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It was revealed this morning on MTV Multiplayer that during a demo for the upcoming James Bond title Quantum of Solace, that Activision polled gamers in advance before starting development on the game. Slated for a Fall release on multiplatforms, the newest entry in the James Bond franchise was heavily researched by game developers Treyarch, and according to Josh Olin, the community manager for studio, the survey produced a 60/40 split; thus crowing “first-person” the winner.

However, fans of the third-person shooter should not fret, for while the game is indeed a FPS, when Bond takes cover or engages in hand-to-hand combat the view switches over into third-person mode. In doing so, Activision is banking on giving both genres the game they crave. Hopefully it will pay off for them, and the Bond franchise as whole.

The game Quantum of Solace will cover both the most recent Bond movie “Casino Royale” and its upcoming sequel, “Quantum of Solace”. The game will be run will use the Call of Duty 4 engine, and since the game will be released onto multiple platforms, it will be interesting to see how it will differ from port to port. COD4 was not released for the Wii, so I imagine (correct me if I am wrong) that either they will have to tweak things a bit or use a different engine for the Nintendo console. Plus, a myriad of developers will be creating the game for different versions: Treyarch (Xbox 360 and PS3), Vicarious Visions (handheld), Beenox (Wii) and Eurocom (PC).

What this means, is that like most multiplatform games, you can expect each one to look drastically different from the next. Unless of course you are looking at PC/PS3/360 comparisons, which mainly just differ in matters of clarity - or so I have found. Of course, this could be because I added a bit of whiskey to my espresso earlier.

With the ability to play the iconic British secret agent in both FPS and TPS, do you dear readers, think that it will give us the best of both worlds? Or will it just prove that sticking to one style throughout is the best route to go?

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We’ve been wondering about the video game adaptation of the new James Bond film, and now Activision has finally unveiled some new screenshots for the project. Quantum of Solace will mark the first game featuring Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the famous spy. The will feature first-person and third-person action segments, and will also utilize the Call of Duty 4 engine; so you probably expect some pretty intense firefights. The screens looks pretty polished, but I hope they’re giving Daniel Craig a bit more expression in the game. See that face above? The same expression is in every single screenshot.

You can check out the rest of the screens here.

Back in May, we were given a few little tidbits regarding Treyarch’s new Bond game Quantum of Solace, but with no real screens from the game nor actual information other than that it would run on the CoD4 engine and  “yes, it is coming, yes it is a movie tie-in”.

Today, Games Radar posted the first screen of the game, and informed readers that OXM and PTOM would both have the scoop on Quantum so if you subscribe to one of the other or each one, you should be getting the good in the mail very soon.

As soon as we find out more, we will be sure and let you know at it. Everyone who loved GoldenEye is keeping their fingers crossed that this next-gen version of Bond will live up to the greatness that was the N64 masterpiece.

Via: Games Radar

Activison has launched the official website for their new Bond game Quantum of Solace. There are a few screens of concept art for the game, which are not very big and you cannot zoom in on them, which sucks, but at least what they do show you is pretty decent looking.Not much else is revealed on the site except for the obvious information regarding the game being next-gen, etc.According to IMDB, the plotline for the movie is as follows:

QUANTUM OF SOLACE continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (DANIEL CRAIG) in CASINO ROYALE. Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organization. On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land. In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organization.

Since the game is based on the movie, it is rational to assume that the game will pretty much have the same plot elements to it and hopefully Activision will have more updates added to the game site soon, so just keep checking back every once in a while. You can also check back with us as well, because as soon as any assets are released, we will post them.

Obsidian Entertainment has granted a preview of their upcoming near-future spy thriller RPG Alpha Protocol to CVG. The title should appeal to 007 and Bourne fans and hopes to push the international spy thriller to the limit with a formula combining the best of “the three JBs”- James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer.

“Yeah, Alpha Protocol has much of the edginess of the new James Bond movie,” smiles Ryan Rucinski, one of Obsidian’s senior producers, as we mull over his new roleplayer.

“Although the development of AP actually started before the release of Casino Royale. So when the movie came out and we saw the results, we knew we had made the right decision. There have been a lot of movies that have influenced us during the conceptual creation - Mission: Impossible, the Bourne films, Ronin… However, one of the main contributors in look and tone was Syriana. If James Bond is where the action comes from, Syriana has a big influence on the theme.”

The article covers the mission and level progression, skill progression and character interactions with NPCs. You can get a good feel for the game mechanics on CVG.

There are extremely high expectations for Alpha Protocol. Comparisons to the game that set the bar for high-tech RPGs, Deus Ex, are dropped several times. That’s a tough game to emulate and too many titles have been way off target. Lets hope Alpha Protocol hits the mark.

If you have some design skills, Obsidian Entertainment is hiring for positions on the Alpha Protocol development team. Applicants must be willing to relocate to Orange County California. If you’re still interested, check out the official posting on the Obsidian Entertainment site.

It’s an age old question: are the guns in games really all that accurate? Oftentimes in the process of reviewing a game, reviewers will praise a game for its realistic weapons – but realistically, the average game reviewer doesn’t know the difference between a Walther PPK and 5″/38 caliber guns. (The former is the gun James Bond has made famous, while the latter is something you’d find on a battleship.)

Popular Mechanics takes a look at this subject by diving in and taking a look at the way various games handle weapons, including Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Call of Duty 4, and even America’s Army.

[A]ccording to Philippe Theiren, an RSV2 designer at Ubisoft Montreal and the team’s self-described “gun guy,” bullet penetration now takes into account incredibly fine details, like whether the target is wearing leather or cloth. “It’s actually an excessively complex formula,” Theiren says. “If someone shoots through a plant, then a car door, then it hits Level 3 body armor, all of that effects the force of the round.” Actual ballistic data associated with the guns in RSV2, then, determine whether you can fire a burst through a wooden table and take someone out.

Except, of course, when the developers feel the need to cheat. All of the guns in RSV2 start out extremely accurate, based on factory stats and more, before game balance and player expectations come into play. A shotgun firing buckshot, for example, has significantly more penetration in RSV2 than it should. Why? “People associate shotguns with powerful, close-range weapons,” Theiren says. So a shotgun blast will punch through walls and armor just fine, even though buckshot is known for its lack of penetration in the real world.

“I take these weapons, and look at what defines them, or what people think defines them,” Theiren explains. “For an Uzi, people think it fires lots of bullets, and it’s really inaccurate.” That, he knows, has nothing to do with reality—if anything, Uzis are considered some of the most reliable and accurate submachine guns around. But the 80s (and Miami Vice in particular) offered us the Uzi as a low-life villain’s weapon, spit-fire and out-of-control. “So I make it fire faster than it should. It’s about taking the personality of a weapon, and making it shine in the game,” Theiren says.

It’s a pretty interesting feature and might go a long way in explaining why the same weapon is so dramatically different from one game to the next, even when they’re all giving off the vibe of a realistic shooter.

Now, I need to go back out to my yard so I can keep practicing with my Phalanx CIWS.

Details have been released on Obsidian’s new action RPG in development, Alpha Protocol. Game Informer featured the new title on the cover of the April issue. Here are some of the highlights of the story courtesy of NeoGaf.

“A modern day espionage focused action/RPG that takes you on a suspenseful ride in the vein of James Bond, Jack Bauer, and Jason Bourne. Take a wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn agent up through the ranks to become a bona-fide super spy.”

• Main character is Michael Thorton, a fully trained but inexperienced young operative who has the world turned upside down when a mission goes wrong.
• Title “Alpha Protocol” is a phrase that is used when operatives go underground to work off the grid. Usually reserved for senior agents.
• Battle system is similar to Mass Effect but have more in common with Uncharted. It revolves around real time combat with an emphasis on gun play and high tech gadgets.
• Third person perspective, action orientated gameplay
• Close quarters combat can be a last resort or primary method of fighting depending on how you spend skill points you have earned.
• Skill system is based most closely on Fallout. It’s classless, you have 10 skills and 10 ranks in each skill. Skills don’t simply improve things like accuracy, they improve the way your character will perceive situations.
• The game will suit all play styles from the run and gunner to the stealth assassin.
• Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy. Once conversations happen, that’s it, no revisiting the NPC to try to talk again and again. System is named the Dialog Stance System. You dictate your characters tone in a conversation by pressing a corresponding face button. Options can be cool and suave others can be brash/impatient.
• You can have multiple active missions in different countries and travel freely between them.
• Lots of girls and romance subplots. You’ll meet tons of different girls on missions and yes you can bag them all.
• Current control scheme for selecting powers and weapons is similar to Bioshock.

Sega has signed on as the publisher for Alpha Protocol. The title will be available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 and is scheduled for release Spring 2009.
via NeoGaf

We’ve all heard the claim that violence in video games promotes desensitization to real life violence in players.

A new study by a team out of Helsinki Finland tested the immediate brain response of 36 participants to individual game events. The results, published under “The Psychophysiology of James Bond: Phasic Emotional Responses to Violent Video Game Events,” led to some interesting and unexpected finds.

While playing James Bond 007: Nightfire, the subjects reacted negatively to shooting or killing antagonists while they found their own characters’ death or wounding rewarding.

“There was no evidence for desensitization of emotional responses as a function of repeated exposures to violent game events,” concluded the study.

You can read the full summary of this surprising study at ShackNews.

With the addition of MGM to the Video Marketplace, that means you can now download James Bond flicks for your HD viewing pleasure on the Xbox 360. Currently there are only two of the most recent Pierce Brosnan Bond movies, Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough, with more in the pipelines.

Having ready access to the entirety of the Bond library through the Video Marketplace is definitely going to be a very cool thing. I mean, sure, it’s worthless to someone like me that already owns every one of those movies on DVD (and Blu-ray in Casino Royale’s case), but for anyone else looking for quick and easy access to the classic British spy films, this is pretty sweet.

Oh, and this wouldn’t be a bad way to lead up to a release of GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade… Please?

We all knew that Activison planned on releasing a new Guitar Hero game annually, and earlier this week a band calling themselves The Answer solidified it by issuing a press release regarding their presence in Guitar Hero IV. This was not really earth-shattering news, although we always prefer Activision or any other gaming company to confirm details beofre we get all hot and bothered about it.

Yesterday during a conference, Activison not only informed their investors of the record breaking Q3 sales of $1.48 BILLION for 2007 - but a slew of information regarding some of our favorite franchises was forthcoming along with long awaited Bond news. With the company not releasing any new games for the current quarter ending March 31st, here is a taste of what to expect during the rest of the year from Activision.

• Three new Guitar Hero titles will be released in 2008, two of which will be coming in the Spring and the expected Guitar Hero IV which will hit before the end of the year - most likely for the holiday shopping season. Along with the announcement of more DLC for Guitar Hero III, Activision will also be pushing their rocking franchise harder in Europe than ever before.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare sold over 7 million units worldwide in last year, so one would expect them to continue cashing-in on this grand success. Apparently Activision has a new title in the series coming (most likely) in the Fall. No details were forthcoming other than the PS2 and Wii will be able to join-in on the lovefest this time around. More downloadable content is expected for CoD4 as well this year.

• The Tony Hawk brand will be getting overhauled due to the competition it received from EA’s Skate. Executives told their investors that with the amount of public research they did, they have come up with more innovative idea for the game. Fans of the franchise can expect the next installment sometime in the Fall, but unfortunately no specifics were mentioned as to what level of extra “innovation” gamers can expect.

• Moving on into Marvel Country, gamers can expect a new Spider-Man adventure and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance this year as well.

• Titles based on Dreamworks CGI movies Madagascar II and the Jack Black/ Angelina Jolie CGI flick Kung Fu Panda are also expected to hit shelves.

• Finally, last but not least, Bond news - although not much really. The new James Bond game is coming out sometime in the Fall to coincide with the movie, but as usual, details on the game were not given out.

So there ya go folks. All the news you need to know on the Activision front without actually reporting anything in depth. I really wish they could have thrown the public a bone or two, but alas, we will just have to starve for a while. We can all speculate about what the new Guitar Hero titles may be - they have already covered the eighties, they mix and match all different musical eras - therefore a seventies or nineties version would be unrealistic. Could it be a “Flower Power” or “Head Bangers Ball” title? Who knows, we will just have to wait and see what they have up their sleeves. As far as another CoD game goes, I seriously hope they are not rushing into it because none of us want a CoD title to become another Medal of Honor: Vanguard - blech. Remember the horrible aiming system that game had? That is one of the things that happens when you rush a game just to continue to cash in on a well received title.

One last thing - let us all cross our collective fingers that the next Bond title with be worthy of his hallowed name. I would  hate to see such an iconic figure featured in a less-than-sub-par gaming title - it is just sacrilegious.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Did you see the recent movie based on the Hitman games? I am so incredibly sorry. But if there was one ray of light in the dark pit of video-game-to-movie nightmare that was the Hitman movie, it most certainly came from Olga Kurylenko. Apparently someone over at Columbia Pictures took notice as she has now been cast in the coveted role of the female lead to Daniel Craig in the next James Bond film. Earlier reports had pegged Gemma Atherton as the next “Bond girl,” but it turns out she has a much smaller role in the upcoming film. The new James Bond movie may not have a title, but considering everyone who created Casino Royale is returning, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this turns into another mind-blowing film. Until then, let’s just remember we have two hours of this to look forward to:

Via Reuters

Following the raging success(?) of their Bee Movie Game, Beenox Studios - part of Activision- will be speeding up the production of original content. With its first title created from scratch being the aforementioned game, Beenox is currently working on the Wii version of Activision’s first James Bond game, which is expected to be released concurrently with the movie later this year. Tentatively slated for a November 2008 release, the working title of both the film and the game is Bond 22.

“Right now we’re working on a James Bond Wii title in conjunction with Treyarch (CoD3) and we’re rolling with it because we’re really good at what we’re doing and Activision doesn’t want to send their ports anywhere else,” said Thomas Wilson, creative director of Beenox. “One thing we want to make sure of if we’re making the Wii version is that we absolutely want the controls to be top notch. Although we don’t fully control the original development content because it’s in collaboration with Treyarch, that’s one thing that we can do – make sure we put out a strong Wii title. We’re almost ahead of the title that is being developed with Treyarch at the moment, so we’re saying that we’re ready and waiting for stuff. That’s the Beenox way of doing things, we don’t want to waste time, we want to be productive.”

Beenox has previously been responsible for porting the majority of of Activision titles such as Spider-Man and X-Men to multiple formats, the studio is now concentrating on original content but is still intent on successfully porting games for Activision.

“We have two types of teams – the conversion team, with the ability to convert titles and make good ports – and at the same time we have an original team developing original titles, and we’re talking about having multiple projects running at the same time,” said Wilson.

The Bee Movie Game came together in only 18 months, and the studio used all in-house technology instead of relying on any external middleware. Wilson’s team were also allowed a level of creative freedom that he believes proved to Activision that Beenox is more than just a “porting factory”.

“We had a lot of creative room and so we expect that creative room to be as big if not bigger on our next projects. Now that we’ve proven what we can do we expect Activision to understand where we want to go with a title and let us have fun with it”, said Wilson.

Fantastic. Good for them. Woo Hoo. They can do whatever they want, just as long as they do not sully Bond with another crap game like The World is Not Enough or From Russia with Love. It is high time 007 had another great game like Goldeneye and by-god Bond deserves it.

For more on this development, visit: GamesIndustry.biz

Three new Rock Band songs are now available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Unlike previous weeks, the three songs are by different artists and there’s no bundle pack available; you’ll have to buy them individually for 160 Microsoft Points.

“My Iron Lung” by Radiohead, “Buddy Holly” by Weezer and a cover of “Brass in Pocket,”  made famous by The Pretenders, are the three songs. That’s not a bad selection, and I already know a few people who have dropped the money on Buddy Holly. I just wish The Pretenders’ song had been “Where Has Everybody Gone.” Brings me back to the days of a good James Bond flick starring Timothy Dalton.

Yes, one of those actually exists.

The Quartermann’s most recent report in the January 2008 issue of EGM makes a mention of the current project that Bizarre Creations is working on, and it’s not at all what you’d think. The creator of the Project Gotham Series – which was purchased by Activision in September – is reportedly at work on a James Bond game with a heavy emphasis on driving.

Let’s pretend that there never was a James Bond themed driving game before now, and consider Bizarre’s track record of making quality racing games. Let’s be optimistic, because as a Bond fan, I can’t take another 007 Racing.

The new Activision Blizzard site is up and has a fact sheet with a list of upcoming games including Call of Duty 5 and Guitar Hero IV.

The sheet also lists a “new Tony Hawk”, “James Bond”, “new Marvel titles” and an “entry into racing with Bizarre” as well as Activision and Vivendi’s strengths.

Although an Activision spokesperson declined to comment on the contents, these sequel announcements should surprise no one.

We’ll have to keep checking back for updates as no additional details or release dates are listed at this time.

via GamesIndustry.biz

Score one for the nerds. Recently, Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond and star of Casino Royale, revealed that he loves playing video games whenever he gets a chance.

“I can switch the phone off and not see anybody for a couple of hours. That is blissful. It’s just as well I don’t have much spare time or I would probably fritter it away playing computer games.”

He also apparently knows enough about games to know that movie licenses usually equal terrible games and initially refused to sign off on a Casino Royale game:

When I started signing contracts for Bond I said, ‘I’m not doing the computer game’ and they said, ‘Tough, you are’. I said to the people making the Bond game, ‘You’ve got to make this good because there is so much rubbish out there.’

So, 007’s a gamer. Just remember that if you’re ever online playing someone with the Gamertag “xFromRu55iaWithLov3x.” Whatever you do though, don’t play him in poker. That’s just a bad idea.

Via Showbiz Spy

Activision has blown the cover of the developers for the latest James Bond game. Call of Duty 3 developer Treyarch is the team presumably handling next-generation console development. PC experts Beenox and handheld specialists Vicarious Visions are also on the project.

Activision acquired the rights to Bond May of last year and will hold the property until 2014. No details of the new game are being divulged as of yet but the publisher says gamers can expect England’s favorite MI6 agent to make an appearance in late 2008.

via Press Release

Roger Ebert has yet again started rambling on about subjects he knows nothing about. Perhaps he should stick to just reviewing movies instead of talking about video games and art, two subjects he seems to know very little about. Honestly, he’s not even that great when it comes to reviewing films. Many times if I see that Ebert has given a film a bad review, I know it’s something that I probably want to see. If you have ever read his reviews, he comes across as having a closed mind and inability to relate with the every day people in this world. I raise the question, is Roger Ebert even human?

A while back, Ebert made comments in one of his typical rants that video games could not be art. Of course things have calmed down a bit and he’s back to making more really crazy statements trying to defend his uneducated and closed views on life. The well known author and video gamer Clive Barker made numerous comments concerning Ebert’s lack of knowledge. After each comment by Barker, Ebert responds with strange answers founded on nothing but thin air. I find it strange that somehow Ebert does not even realize how moronic his responses sound. He’s living in his own little world and I’d honestly like to know why anyone buys a word he says. Obviously after you finish reading the quotes below, I’m sure you will agree with me. Someone really needs to get some psychological help for Ebert and bring him back to the real world one of these days.
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One of my favorite games from the past was Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode released in 1988 for the NES. I’ll admit the only reason I even got the game in the first place was the fact I heard that it had sex, action, violence, smoking and other subjects included in the game. I was only 11 years old at the time, so it was an interesting change from the usually soft and friendly Nintendo we were all accustomed to. Looking back on it, the game really wasn’t bad compared to what we have available now anyway. It seems to me the Golgo 13 franchise was a great thing for a while and basically faded into obscurity. I just feel as if some game series are getting a little dry these days and a little touch of the “old” could go a long way.
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This week at E3, I finally got a chance to see Sony Online Entertainment’s upcoming MMO, The Agency. Slated to release on the PC and PS3, The Agency is a first (or third) person shooter that takes place in a persistent online world.

Players will choose between two factions for their character to join, either UNITE or PARAGON. UNITE is the high-tech, glamorous, James-Bond style spies that you might know from the movies, while PARAGON is a collection of ragtag mercenaries using castoff equipment. The two organizations are not enemies, although they are rivals. In fact, certain objectives that both organizations deem important will result in players of both factions being tasked to work together.

One major difference between The Agency and other MMOs is the complete lack of a traditional class system. In its place, SOE is using a system that they have dubbed, “You are what you wear.” How does that work? It’s actually fairly simple. Based on what equipment you have equipped, you could be a combat, support, or stealth specialist. Regardless of this their equipment, players will improve their skills based on how often they use them.

In addition to the basic gameplay, SOE is also including a feature they’ve dubbed ‘PvP Anytime.’ It will allow players to jump into a combat scenario directly from the menu. However, it’s not solely combat. There are also a number of minigames, including gambling. Gambling in a spy game? Delicious.

The last thing I want to mention is that once a player has gained enough experience, he will be granted Non-Official Cover (NOC) status, and will effectively be starting his own agency. Once this happens, players can recruit NPC operatives of their own, each of whom can be assigned tasks ranging from spy missions to obtaining weapons and gadgets. These operatives will actually communicate with you outside the game as well as in game (this is an option that can be turned off). For instance, an operative assigned to obtain a vehicle might email you when he’s procured it, and an operative captured while spying might text message you asking for the ransom to be paid to release him. It’s just one more way of drawing players into the game.

All in all, The Agency looks fairly good. It’s still a ways from release, but if they are able to maintain the gameplay hook they have now, it could be a very interesting title at release.