I don’t know about you guys, but here at Gaming Today, we’re always up for a game that includes zombies. Of late, we’ve been playing Left 4 Dead, and keeping our eyes on Killing Floor, the upcoming release from Tripwire Interactive. Killing Floor isn’t exactly a zombie game, but genetically engineered zombies are close enough for us.

If you’re a Unreal Tournament player, you may remember Killing Floor as a mod for UT2K4. Since then, the mod team behind Killing Floor has teamed up Tripwire Interactive to bring their mod to retail release as a standalone title, and it looks to have some serious potential.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with a few of the people responsible for Killing Floor. Read on to find out a little bit more about the upcoming survival horror title.

Gaming Today: Let’s get the boilerplate stuff out of the way up front. Can you tell us who you are, what your role in the production of Killing Floor is?

Alan Wilson, VP of Tripwire Interactive. I get all the non-tech stuff to do. Some writing and design, bit of voice acting this time, project management, PR and trying to manage the testing.

I’m Alex Quick. I’ve worn a few hats over the course of KFs production, but primarily I’m working as a level designer, and texture artist. Oh, and the mod this game is based on was largely my undertaking, so I’ve been pretty active in gameplay design discussions for the sake of consistency.

Dayle Flowers, Senior Programmer at Tripwire Interactive. Aside from the typical working on game play, I get much of the highly technical stuff that many people overlook and simply expect to work. I was responsible for connecting Killing Floor to the Steam system to support Authentication, the Master Server, and Perks/Achievements. [Edit: and designing a lot of that stuff, too! AW]

Dan Nassick, audio designer and musician. I’ve worked on the Killing Floor mod since 2005 and my responsibility on the audio team has been to organize a complete audio overhaul in the transition from modification to commercial game.

Myles Lambert, part of the original mod team. I get to do a great mixture of work, environmental art and level design and when I’m not working on that I’m working on some future DLC map content.

GT: So, judging from everything I’ve seen, Killing Floor is a survival horror game featuring some very interesting adversaries. Can you tell us a little bit about these zombies?

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FileFront has received a bunch of demos and patches this past week, and for once, it seems like the demos are worth writing about. So, to kick things off, lets start with the patches that hit this week, just in case you were unaware that one was available for your game.

As always, for the full list of patches and games, hit the links.

Patches

• Legacy Interactive has released a patch updating The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes to v1.1.
• Codemasters has released a patch for ArchLord to adjust registry entry to point to correct location.
• Crytek has released a patch updating Crysis Wars to v1.2. This patch fixes various problems, but mainly addresses balancing issues.
• Electronic Arts has released a patch updating Spore to v1.03 with 24 new and exclusive exoskeleton limbs for the Creature Creator.

Demos

Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: Move over, James Bond! Strong Bad’s here to show you how it’s done in his hand-crafted cinematic masterpiece. You play Dangeresque, a dirty cop in pursuit of action and big sacks of cash. Can our hero defeat his arch-nemesis and save the world? Looks like he’s gonna have to jump.

7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven: In 7 Wonders, you have to build nine of the most intriguing structures throughout history. You have to match runes to break blocks and uncover the lock and keystone for each round.

Call of Atlantis: Takes players on a fascinating journey around the ancient lands of the Mediterranean to acquire seven mysterious crystals of power able to restore the Altar of Poseidon and save the fabled sunken city of Atlantis.

Ellen Whitaker’s Horse Life: PC demo which allows you to take care of your horse and complete certain tasks.

Murlikin Rescues His Estate: Aliens are threatening to occupy the Earth and the only one who can interfere with this evil plan is… a cat.

Five more demos listed after the jump.

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Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People has a new episode coming up for which you can now get a free demo. Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 is James Bond meets Dirty Harry Strong Bad style. You’ll be playing the part of the part of dirty cop Dangeresque. Your mission is to defeat your arch-nemesis, grab some fat loot and save the world.

To try before you buy, grab the Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 Demo from FileFront. Check out the latest screenshots in Strong Bad’s gallery while you’re there.

It’s GameTap Thursday again folks, and you know what that means don’t you? Another new episode of American McGee’s Grimm Volume Two has arrived. Like all other episodes of Grimm it is free to play for the first 24-hours–after which, you will have to be a subscriber to continue playing it.

King Midas is a fairytale or more of a lesson handed down the centuries by the Greeks, and most people are familiar with the tale, but I will tell you more about it anyway. For ten days and ten nights the Greek god Dionysus’ teacher, a Satyr named Silenus, told King Midas wonderful tales. When he was ready to leave, the King had an escort take him back to Dionysus and his way of returning the favor was granting King Midas anything he wanted as a reward. He chose the golden touch. Unfortunately for him, this means that his food, drink, and everything thing else he needed to sustain him turned to gold. Starving, thirsty and depressed, his daughter hugged him and thus unwittingly turned herself into gold. Now, how in the world can Grimm make that even MORE diabolical and depressing? Well, as the saying goes, “you ain’t seen nothing yet” or was that a song by Bachman Turner Overdrive?

He was kind of like Goldfinger in the James Bond movie of the same name, but not evil–just not very smart. Also, he does not have a minion named Oddjob to do his bidding, and instead of painting things gold, King Midas actually turned things to gold. Come to think of it, he is nothing like Goldfinger…ok.. never mind then….

Also available this week to subscribers is Space Hack. Developed by Rebelmind, Space Hack is a Diablo-inspired action-RPG set in a science fiction world. Taking on the role of a warrior, players must hack their way through a spaceship full invading alien creatures in a desperate attempt to reach emergency transportation and escape their cruel fate. The game offers a diverse level of character development, allowing the player to solve problems in a variety of ways.

No new free games were added this week since King Midas is free to play for the first 24-hours. However, GameTap has loads of free games just ready for you to dive into. 143 of them to be exact, and included in those is the original Hitman and Fallout, so what are you waiting for? Head on over to the official website now and sign up.

Next week, Grimm tells the tale of Cinderella… poor girl. I can only imagine what the nasty little troll has in store for her.

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?

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.