Ahh, co-op. At some point within this decade it seemed as if co-operative gameplay in video games was going through a period of waning. Whether it was due to the fact that games were getting ‘too complicated’ to slap in a co-op game mode, or developers were intimidated at the thought of including a co-op feature, it’s pretty evident today that co-op in games is a viable investment. Gears of War, Halo 3, Rainbox Six: Vegas, and Lego Star Wars are just a handful of recently successful titles that have proven co-op as selling point feature. Upcoming titles Left 4 Dead and Army of Two ambitiously plan on co-op being their primary selling point.

While we were partying away these past few days, PC Gamer whipped up a well written article discussing the joys of co-op. The article is an excellent read that not only covers the pros and cons of co-op from the perspective of a gamer, but also the game designer as well. In fact, PC Gamer gathered a few responses regarding the subject of co-op from some notable developers themselves. Harvey ‘Deus Ex’ Smith (BlackSite), Jonathan Sutton (Alien Swarm), and even the infamous Cliff ‘CliffyB’ Bleszinski (Gears of War) share their experiences as game designers.

One response that caught my attention was from Harvey ‘Deus Ex’ Smith, lead designer of Midway’s BlackSite: Area 51:

“It’s amazing how you can be in a room full of MIT grads, and people who have been working on games for ten years and play all the games, and look at the helicopter with one turret on it and then someone finally says ‘What about player two?’”

A sad annotation here is that co-op was ultimately dropped from BlackSite. Somewhat proof that if you are going to design a game with a successful co-op feature, you’d best do it from the ground up. Slapping on co-op as a last minute thought just doesn’t cut it these days.

Despite any preconceptions of co-op as a gamer, I’d suggest anyone to give the PC Gamer article a read. I for one am a huge fan of co-op games. In fact, co-op is the very reason Pterodon’s awesome multiplayer co-op game Vietcong has remained on my hard drive this long. Discovering a co-op game you and your friends constantly enjoy playing is like finding treasure. Ahh, and the gaming memories…. I think I’ll end on that note.

Via CVG

Yesterday’s hefty PlayStation 3 PlayStation Store update is going to have to compensate for the next two weeks, as there won’t be any update next week due to the holidays. But that shouldn’t matter, because there really is a ton of stuff included in this week’s update, including four downloadable games (one of which even has a free demo, something we need to see more often on PSN), the Warhawk Omega Dawn Booster Pack, new Guitar Hero III tracks, Rock Band tracks, content for MotorStorm, Folklore and High Stakes Poker, the PSone game Warhawk, tons of videos and a BlackSite: Area 51 demo – among other stuff.

So what are you waiting for? There’s a crapton of good stuff, so hit the break for the full list of content and then get downloading. Read the full article

Play Digital has a video review of Blacksite Area 51 which allows gamers the chance to see what critics are talking about. Blacksite has come under heavy fire and you can see for yourself why. The review covers vehicle operations and the Squad Morale system as your video host Katherine leads you through different aspects of gameplay.

Hi guys, I’m taking a look at Blacksite: Area 51 on Xbox 360 for you today. Yes, that’s right, for you; some of these games I play so you don’t have to!

There’s some Iraqis (O_o) and some mutanty alieny type things to shoot at – too bad you can’t shoot at your own men though.

Not a bad game overall, but it doesn’t really have any raison d’etre in these halcyon days of FPS. The truth might be out there, but I don’t think you’ll find it in this game.

via Play Digital

Creative director Harvey Smith has left Midway after his scathing comments on BlackSite Area 51 that Midway executives refer to as his “public resignation.”

Although Smith praised the game’s political themes calling them “super f**ing subversive” he lambasted the development process stating that the entire project was “so f**ed up.”

Smith has worked with Warren Spector at Ion Storm, where he was lead designer on the acclaimed Deus Ex and project director on its followup Deus Ex: Invisible War. With Deus Ex 3 in the works and Smith now a free agent, one can only wonder of even dare to hope that he might sign on with Eidos.

via ShackNews 

Midway’s Harvey Smith, the developer in charge of Blacksite: Area 51, has admitted that the low review scores for the game came as “no surprise” to him, and admits that there were a multitude of problems during the developmental process.

While speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit, Smith eloquently stated in an interview that: “This project was so f*cked up. It took eight months to get one thing working, [and] with a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails.” Smith went on to say that Blacksite “went straight from alpha to final,” which game the team hardly any time to test-play the game.

During the interview, Smith was asked for his reasonings behind such honesty and belief that they deserve such critical slamming, – which might upset his bosses at Midway – refreshingly he replied: “I believe in personal accountability.” With Blacksite: Area 51 getting ready to hit the PC and Xbox 360 in Europe tomorrow, I am sure he is prepared for more critical bashing in that sector, especially when the PS3 version finally hits shelves.

I applaud his honesty because it is not often that a game developer takes full responsibility for releasing a crap game, and it is nice to see that he is not trying to pawn it off on someone else. Midway should respect this type of ethic in their employees and realize that they are as guilty as the people working on the game. Plus, it does not matter if Smith admitted that the game was sub-par or not, the gamers and critics realized it from the moment they started playing it, so he can publicly admit it sucks all he wants – it will not help or hurt it either way.

You can get the full article by visiting Wired.

Midway has announced that two of their latest titles have hit stores today – Blacksite: Area 51 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat brings the lighting fast fighting technique found in the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, along with Puzzle Kombat from Mortal Kombat: Deception to the Nintendo DS. Gamers can perfect their fighting skills in single-player mode or challenge friends and enemies alike via multi-player over the Nintendo Wireless network.

BlackSite: Area 51 is a FPS that brings squad-based and combat action to the streets of small-town America. Available now for the PC and Xbox 360, the PS3 version is scheduled to be released in December.

For more information on both games, check out the press releases after the break, along with our previous posts and the newest trailer from Ultimate Mortal Kombat. To view the trailer you must go through an age gate, so just click here and enter your real age (lol).

Read the full article

There’s a new trailer up for BlackSite: Area 51, the next gen re-inventing of the old school arcade shooter. This new installment looks to heighten the horror level by offering a whole lot of scares. This translates into huge monsters popping out of the ground, massive explosions, and a soldier that bears a striking resemblance to Saddam Hussein. The game is set to hit store shelves later this month.

Midway has unveiled a new TV spot for their upcoming FPS, BlackSite: Area 51. The ad is set to air on ESPN during Monday Night Football, Comedy Central, Spike TV, Sci-Fi Network and others the same day the game ships, November 12th. Now, how would you advertise a game like this? Well, if you’re Midway, you’d get a little crying girl to wander through a destroyed town before getting jumped by a horrible monster to no doubt get eviscerated in some terrible manner. It just seems a tad excessive to advertise a video game by showing a horrific series of event befalling a young girl. Cause that’s just what I want to see when I’m watching Comedy Central: little kids getting slaughtered in horrible ways. It’s not like they’d ever do that on South Park…wait.

Last week I mentioned that Midway’s Blacksite: Area 51 would have online co-op play. Well, these plans have been trimmed down, so if you and your buddy want to play co-op but are not in the same domicile, then you are out of luck. Also, the option to play ranked or unranked matches and the proximity-based voice chatter feature will still be available on the Xbox 360, but PS3 (and possibly PC users) will miss out on these features.For those who were looking forward to playing Blacksite via co-op with their pals and significant other in the comfort of their own home will be disappointed. So instead of pointing and laughing at your buddy for getting fragged beyond all recognition, you will have to shout your insults over your headsets. Good going Midway.

Thanks: Kotaku

Check out new screens for the game after the break.

Read the full article

Midway today released some new screens for the their newest action FPS BlackSite: Area 51. The battles take place in Nevada (of course) and Iraq. Apparently, not only were the troops being bombarded with insurgents, but aliens too.Basically, you are part of a Delta Force unit with squad-mates to back you up and you control them with a context sensitive “One-Button Squad Command” control. The moral of your squad will also rise and fall with the quality of your orders which in turn will make your squad either an effective killing machine or a bunch of inept targets. Destructible environments that can be reduced to rubble and creating interactive cover points that can be blown away with enough firepower is something new to the franchise, and Midway is promising that Blacksite is nothing like any of the previous installments. Aside from the original arcade version, they made the right move by disenfranchising themselves from the stinkfest that the game had become and have have started fresh. Good for them. Another thing of note, Blacksite includes 32 levels, and this time around it can be played in two-player cooperative mode.

BlackSite: Area 51 is set to ship to stores next month for the PC, PS3 and Xbox-360. For more information, click the links in this post.