Late Night Consoling

Just a few weeks ago, Electronic Arts semi-announced a very secret game called Project Gray Company. Today, the company more formally announced another title which it says has been "kept top secret for the past year": Army of Two, a political thriller action game from EA Montreal, focused around two-player cooperative play. EA Montreal honcho Alain Tascan, also serving as executive producer on the project, notes that the game is "EA's first original title for next-gen systems"--implying, for one thing, that it will ship before Project Gray Company.

Army of Two thrusts the player into "political turmoil and a conspiracy so vast it threatens the entire world," always accompanied by a companion that can apparently be either a human partner or an AI-controlled NPC, depending on whether a buddy is available. The announcement constantly stresses the number "two," indicating that the two-player dynamic is a crucial element of the game experience.

EA Montral's Army of Two will ship some time in 2007 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

At last year's Tokyo Game Show, Ubisoft revealed early details of a game then referred to as Project Assassins. Today, that game was formally announced as Assassin's Creed, a PlayStation 3-exclusive action title the press release was sure to position as merely the first in a new franchise. Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD during the Third Crusade, with the player acting as a member of the enigmatic Assassins determined to put a stop to the conflict by taking action against both sides. "Assassin's Creed is going to push the video game experience as we know it today into an entirely new direction," said Ubi Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat. "Assassin's Creed's compelling theme and storyline experienced through the next-generation console will captivate audiences and affect them on the same level as an epic novel or film."

Ubisoft's Serge Hascoet noted that this game is part of Ubisoft's current plan to introduce three new game brands every two years; the company recently unveiled another new franchise, Red Steel, suggesting Ubisoft is well on its way towards fulfilling its goal.

More on Assassin's Creed will be shown at E3. The game is expected to ship in 2007.

Codemasters announced today that it has acquired the publishing rights to Triumph Studois' Overlord, a fantasy action/adventure in development for Xbox 360 and PC. The player takes the role of the legendary Overlord, traipsing through a twisted world that darkly parodies traditional myths and tales. At the player's command are Minions, creatures that can fight or perform other tasks in servitude to the Overlord. The press release promises that the player can decide "how bad they want to be in order to succeed...evil or really evil!"

Triumph Studios' Overlord is expected to ship in summer of 2007.

Sega made the latest of its pre-E3 game announcements last night, and now the company has revealed that Pseudo Interactive will be developing Full Auto 2: Battlelines exclusively for PlayStation 3. The original Full Auto was released just a few months ago on Xbox 360 to mixed reviews. Sega promises that the sequel has been "combat-enhanced and re-designed" to take advantage of the PS3 platform. It will feature 25 different vehicles, 20 weapons, and 20 tracks. "The gameplay innovations of tactical destruction and team multiplayer vehicular mayhem combined with the tremendous power of Sony's PLAYSTATION 3 console makes this sequel truly the next generation of combat racing," said Sega's Scott A. Steinberg.

Full Auto 2: Battlelines will be shown at E3. The game does not yet have a projected ship date.

Following yesterday's informal announcement of Metal Slug Anthology for Wii, SNK has now officially confirmed support for both Wii and Nintendo DS. With that confirmation comes the announcement of SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS (DS), the company's first game for Nintendo's latest handheld.

SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS is a new game in the Card Fighters franchise, with over 300 cards featuring characters from the two well known studios. Neither title has a projected release date, but more information will be revealed during E3.

Microsoft is gearing up for E3, as well as bolstering its Xbox Live services for good measure. Today, following some extended downtime of Xbox Live for maintenance, Xbox.com has relaunched with greater functionality for Xbox Live gamers. Now, Gold and Silver members can read messages through Xbox.com, and Gold members can send them as well.

Even if you don't pay for Xbox Live Gold, you'll have access to it next week, as Microsoft is reprising its Verizon-sponsored Xbox Live Free Gold Weekend event to cover all of E3 week. During this promotional event, Microsoft will also be serving up Xbox 360 content from E3 straight over Xbox Live in the form of downloadable demos and trailers. So far, nine games have been announced to have either a demo or trailers released next week:

- Crackdown
- Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
- The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II
- Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (expected to be a demo)
- Moto GP '06
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Splinter Cell Double Agent
- Test Drive Unlimited
- Viva Pinata

But that's not all: Xbox Live Arcade will see the release of immortal card game UNO, and there will be a variety of other downloads and promotions going on throughout the week. European gamers will also be able to participate in the Adidas-sponsored Xbox Live Football Free-For-All, consisting of various soccer-themed online events. See Xbox.com for more details on all of Microsoft's E3 week activities.

Last month, Eidos revealed that Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Legend would be coming to GameCube later in the year, following the previously announced versions on PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, and PC. The publisher has now extended support to reach the remaining two current Nintendo platforms, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, as well as officially confirming the GameCube release. "There are a host of new and exciting features for Lara on the Nintendo platforms," said Eidos' Kathryn Clements. "With the stunning graphics of the original games optimised to Nintendo's platforms, Legend will further extend the reach of the Lara universe."

Tomb Raider: Legend will be released for GameCube, DS, and GBA this fall.

Last year, when ailing publisher Majesco was reorganizing its corporate priorities to stay afloat, it dumped some of its high profile development projects, including the game adaptation of the upcoming Ghost Rider film adaptation, being developed by British studio Climax. Apparently, that project was picked up by Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games, which announced the publishing deal today. Ghost Rider promises to deliver players various types of gameplay suited to the Marvel comics character, including hand to hand combat and motorcyle action. The press release states that the game is in the works for "console and handheld systems," but does not specify any further. Assuming the development situation hasn't changed since Majesco was handling it, it should be set for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PSP.

Ghost Rider is slated to ship alongside the film's release next February.

Looks like yet another publisher is jumping on the episodic game delivery train. Atari today announced that the upcoming Alone in the Dark (X360, PC) being created by Test Drive Unlimited developer Eden Studios will be using an episodic model. Unlike most currently announced episodic titles on the PC, which tend to run a few hours each in length, Alone in the Dark will adhere more closely to a television-like model, delivering 30-40 minute chunks of gameplay distributed over a season. The decision may have been partly influenced by Microsoft's desire to keep downloadable game content on the Xbox 360 in bite sized chunks. Each episode will include a video recap of the previous episode, and will be finished off with a video teaser of the following episode.

Neither a pricing structure nor a release date has been revealed for Eden Studios' Alone in the Dark. Expect more to be announced at E3.

Activision has announced that Infinity Ward will be providing nine new multiplayer maps for the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 2. Two maps set in Germany, Vossenack and Wallendar, will be released for free next week, alongside a Map Pack that will be sold for 400 Microsoft Points ($5) via Xbox Live Marketplace. It will consist of two more maps: Kalach, Russia and Beaumont-Hague, France. This will be followed in July by the Invasion Pack, which will include five more maps for a price of 900 Microsoft Points ($11.25). The Invasion Pack contains:

- Antoville, France (Crossroads)
- St. Louet, France (Newvillers)
- Amaye sur Seulles, France (Normandy)
- Alam Halfa, Egypt (Decoytown)
- Rostov, Russia (Harbor)

Yesterday, Namco Bandai revealed its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 lineup for E3, comprised of four titles. Today, it announced the rest of the games it currently plans to show, which substantially increased the size of the list. It includes such titles as Xenosaga: Episode III (PS2), Tales of the Abyss (PS2), Ace Combat X (PSP), Hellgate: London (PC), Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (PC), and more. For the complete list, check out Namco Bandai's press release.

If you're a DS owner and you haven't yet picked up NST's Metroid Prime Hunters, now's the time to grab this handheld online shooter. Nintendo has just launched a promotion giving away a free Nintendo DS Rumble Pak with each purchase of the game from participating retailers. The Rumble Pak is shaped like a Game Boy Advance cartidge and sits in the DS' GBA cart slot. Usually included with copies of Metroid Prime Pinball, it is also supported in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and, of course, Hunters.

Music 4 Games has an interview up with longtime Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell. They discuss the two Halo 2 soundtrack albums that have been released, featuring the music of O'Donnell and writing partner Michael Salvatori.

Gaming Horizon chats with a Namco Bandai rep about CyberConnect2's .hack//G.U. (PS2).

GameSpot has a whole bevy of previews and first looks in the runup to E3. And hey, so does IGN! GameSpy is in on that as well.