In an interview about Borderlands, the creative director for Gearbox said that a Borderlands 2 seemed like a no-brainer.

“Everyone here loves the franchise, and it seems like the public is really coming back with praise and love. So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me.”

That’s what Mike Neumann said in an interview with VG247. He went on to say that it just makes sense to do a sequel, but they’re still working on DLC content for the original and it’s just watercooler talk at this point.

Bad news for anyone who was a fan of TESIV: Oblivion or TESIII: Morrowind (or should I say, anyone who playes TESIV: Oblivion or TESIII: Morrowind)- Bethesda says they have made no plans for a fifth game in the series.

At QuakeCon 09, a fan asked Bethesda’s Todd Howard if their future plans included a fifth Elder Scrolls game. But rather than give a flat out “Not gonna happen” and destroy the hopes of millions, Howard simply gave the standard “we have no plans for that game at this time” answer, which, unsurprisingly, still crushes the hopes of millions.

A second fan asked if there were any plans for an Elder Scrolls MMO as rumored, and Howard said “There’s always a chance.” For those of you not as skilled in the art of PR talk, that’s practically a “Hell yeah, its coming!”

[via Destructoid]

Ubisoft’s lovable little leporines will soon be hitting the Wii again, but this time not in mini-game form. Rabbids Go Home is the 4th in the Rabbids franchise, but this time, the goal of the game is to collect as much stuff as you can, and get the rabbids back home… to the moon.

The teaser trailer doesn’t show any footage of the game itself, but the way ThatVideogameBlog describes it, it sounds Katamari-esque in nature. Ubisoft will be showing more of the game next month, as it’s part of their line-up for E3, but for now all we’ve got is the trailer and a couple of screenshots which you can see after the jump.

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Rumours of an Assassin’s Creed sequel have been spreading about since Assassin’s Creed came out, but Ubisoft have finally confirmed that they are “working hard on” the sequel. After the recent talk about the game being set in the 1700s, this may not be a surprise to many. However, the kicker in this story is that Ubisoft are quoted as saying Assassin’s Creed 2 will only arrive once there is “more anticipation for it.” Maybe if Ubisoft had spent more time making more than 3 mission types for the first game ten this one would have more hype, right? Right?

Via Gamezine.

In an interview with 1UP.com, Metal Gear Solid 4 assistant producer Ryan Payton mentioned that the next Metal Gear game might just be a prequel.

The interview, which took place a week before the game’s release, has Payton stating, “There are some misunderstandings that this is the final Metal Gear game. But it’s really the final chapter of the Solid Snake story. That’s all.”

While discussing the possibility of a Metal Gear Solid 5, Payton said there is “still a lot of room for filling in the gaps as far as Big Boss is concerned.”

As a big fan of MGS4, I’m happy to hear that this isn’t the end of the series. Big Boss is a very important character and his story is crucial in understanding the complete MGS story. A prequel expanding on Big Boss and his relevance would be great for fans of the series and just might give some fans (like myself) a new understanding of the story.

As far as the timeline goes, who knows when the next Metal Gear will come out? It’s quite possible that it could happen on the PS3, but you never know these days. Here’s hoping we’ll hear something about MGS5 soon.

Source: 1up

The last real Mega Man game to hit the U.S., excluding 2003’s Game Boy Advance title Mega Man & Bass, was 1997’s Mega Man 8 for the original Playstation, which was one bad-ass game.

Luckily, Capcom recently registered Mega Man 9 with the Office of Film and Literature Classification (or the OFLC, Australia’s ESRB). Listed as a “multiplatform” game, it’s unsure what platforms the game will be released for, but there have been rumors that the game will likely come out for the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Honestly, I’d like to see a DS, or even better, a Wii version of the game, which would be totally awesome. Either way, it’s going to be nice to see the Blue Bomber back in action.

Source: Wii Fanboy

Instead of just expanding your current World of Warcraft game with the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard announced an entirely new sequel that will “take you to the next step in interactive gaming”. Check out the video to see the surprising new (yet strangely familiar) direction Blizzard is taking the franchise.

I strangely feel as though I’ve already played this game…

Among other goodies, Ubidays in Paris has resulted in a long awaited revelation: the sequel to Beyond Good and Evil is real.

Ubisoft President Yves Guillemot has just announced Beyond Good and Evil 2, showing a trailer named “1. The Pig.” Gamersyde is the first sport new images and a trailer.  The footage suggests a departure from the cartoon art style of the original, and though Gamersyde suppose the trailer is CG, it looks like in-game assets to me. 

The images can be found here and the trailer here.  We’ll bring you more as we find it.

*Update*- Our suspicions have been confirmed.  The trailer is rendered using the game’s engine

*Update 2* -  Trailer embedded.

There was always hope Heavenly Sword would give birth to a sequel that was “bigger and better than ever before.” At least that’s what we thought when we received a batch of new concept art from Ninja Theory. Not only were our hopes dashed, but they’ve now been pummeled into believing there will never be a Heavenly Sword sequel.  Nariko is dead.

Prompted by a barrage of disappointed fans over Ninja Theory’s announcement that their next game is a multiplatform new IP, IT Manager “Peonic” gave them even more bad news:

We’re not abandoning HS just on a whim because we want to go off and do something different – there’s a great huge raft of reasons behind us taking the direction we are – and it’s also the nature of the business that I’m not allowed to share any of those reasons with you

As for the ‘you’re just not doing HS2 NOW’ comments – well one thing you learn in this industry is that you never say ‘Never’. So I’m not going to say we’ll “never” go back and make HS2 – but it’s something I personally see as extremely unlikely.

So there you have it, Ninja Theory have abandoned Heavenly Sword and a sequel is unlikely.  This is most likely due to perceived poor sales, despite recently reaching platinum status.

The following words from Ninja Thoery founder Nina Kristensen, stated before we knew an eventural sequel was unlikely, sheds some light on the decision:

Well, with Kung-Fu Chaos, we worked exclusively with Microsoft; with Heavenly Sword, we worked exclusively with Sony. And it’s really a time for us to go cross-platform, so we ultimately turned it down. As a studio, we feel it’s the right thing to do. It makes things more commercially viable – and as an indie we have to be very commercially aware. It was great to work with Sony and get really intimate with the PS3 hardware; going forwards, that positions us to execute things properly on both PS3 and 360.

Sadly Heavenly Sword 2 can’t be a multiplatform title, since the IP is owned by SCE.  Peonic goes on to hypothise that Sony could take on the series themselves:

As to whether SCE decide to get someone else in to extend the franchise – well that, as the IP owner, would be completely up to them.

We’re sure the game wouldn’t be the same without Ninja Theory, so we’re all set to be blown away by their new IP and will reluctantly forget about the planned Heavenly Sword trilogy.

Source: Ninja Theory Forums, Next-Gen.biz

EA has confirmed that the follow-up to SKATE is currently in development for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. No release date has been set at this time.

In addition to being praised for its environments and soundtrack, SKATE featured an innovative control scheme; using the thumbsticks the player could not only move around, but could launch grabs, perform manuals, accomplish flip tricks, and every other move possible. Hopefully the sequel will bring even more new features to the table.

Nintendo will also be seeing a version of SKATE on their platform in the form of SKATE It, which will utilise Wii Fit’s balance board.

Source: MCV.UK

In a recent showing of their popular PC and Xbox 360 zombie shooter, Left 4 Dead, Valve’s Marketing VP Doug Lombardi let the world know that they weren’t developing a PS3 version of the game. However, he did leave hope that the game could be ported to the PS3. 

When asked if EA would be porting the game over to the PS3, much like they did with The Orange Box, Lombardi replied,

Left 4 Dead doesn’t have that guaranteed appeal yet – it’s a new IP. If you mention a new Half-Life, people want to make as many versions of it as possible. If Left 4 Dead is big, then we may see a PS3 version later, or if and when we do a sequel, people may be more interested in that.

Lombardi went on to say,

We’re only 150 people, so there’s only so many things we can do. But it’s one of those things with partners, wanting to take on that investment and risk. I think until L4D is proven, you’ll probably just see what we make in that franchise.

It seems as though much of the concern with developing a PS3 version is the financial risk and Valve doesn’t want to have any part of it. Hopefully, Left 4 Dead does well on the PC and Xbox 360 to allow the possibility for a PS3 port.

Sources: CVG.com and PS3fanboy.com

It’s official. 2K Marin, the newly opened 2K studio stationed in California and created by luminaries from 2K Boston (the staff behind original BioShock) will be developing a sequel to BioShock, and it is reportedly going to see the light of day by late 2009.

I hate waiting, but as long as Ken Levine and/or other visionaries for BioShock will be in positions of power, I don’t have problems believing that the wait will be worth it.

And contrary to previously spread rumors, the word ‘sequel’ was tossed around quite a bit as opposed to the prequel that many seemed to believe that we’ll be getting. However, I think seeing how Rapture became what it was in BioShock 1 will be exponentially better than whatever cockamamie story they can come up with.

Clearly, I’m being a little facetious, but that’s just because throughout Bioshock I came to care about Rapture and its ugly-ass inhabitants.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about and have a PC that can pack somewhat of a punch, try playing BioShock. I’m sure you won’t regret it. I mean it’s only $30 now. Even if all you have is a 360, it’s absolutely worth the $60 price of entry, although you can probably find it cheaper on the 360 by now as well.

Source: DevelopMag.com

I was browsing the interwebs and stumbled across some interesting concept art. Turns out, it was for a little game called Gladius 2, a game that up to this point has not yet been announced.

James Zhang, an artist who has done work for several projects including multiple Star Wars games, had quite a bit of concept art up on his site — JZConcepts.com. A hidden list of links was “stumbled upon” in which there were images for Gladius 2, as well as Knights of the Old Republic 3. Those links are now gone.

The existence of Gladius 2 is further proven by the simple fact that Gladius 2 is listed under “projects” if you click on the client list on his main page. Kinda hard to deny it now, right?

Let’s hope this is more than just wishful thinking or unofficial concept art by a mere fan of the game (even though he works with LucasArts). Gladius was a great game, so a sequel would be much appreciated. Announce it already, LucasArts, and how about a release date some time this year!

Cliff Johnson’s 1987 Mac game, The Fool’s Errand, was featured at GDC today in a panel entitled “Stories Best Played: Deconstructing the Best Interactive Storytelling.” The game was an example of how to tightly integrate storytelling and gameplay.

The integration is so tight in this game that you won’t be able to continue reading the tale without first completing puzzles to unlock the text. The memory of poring over the scrambled Sun Map was fondly recalled, and you can have a go yourself by downloading the game from this website.

Then as an extra tidbit, they mentioned that the game’s sequel, The Fool and His Money, will ship this year. Johnson’s website corroborates this fact, adding that if you pre-order, “…your name shall be immortalized in the Compendium of True Believers inside the game.” Does Duke Nukem have one of those, too?

At least we presume the artwork is for a Heavenly Sword sequel, since Ninja Theory has stated that it is a three game series. Have a gander at the High-res artwork after the jump.

Ninja Theory’s website has been updated with a more mature and darker look, along with news of their next project:

Right now we’re working on an exciting new concept that has got everyone we talk to buzzing. We can’t say a lot except that it’s going to be great to work on and should be even better to play!

It’ll take all the things we loved about Heavenly Sword and make them bigger and better than ever before.

With such a strong Playstation 3 engine and vision for their Heavenly Sword project, could this be artwork for an exciting sequel set in a future post-apocalyptic time? A time that might be waiting for the immortal Heavenly Sword to save its people? Or does the concept art suggest a completely new IP?

Ninja Theory Concept Art

8 Photos

 

Source: Ninja Theory

Treading well into the territory of what most would consider “bad taste”, French website Uzinagaz.com’s game New York Defender has recently received some media attention. The purpose of this web-based game is to shoot down passenger jets that have gone all hijacky before they have a chance to explode all over New York City landmarks.

NBC’s Roseanne Colletti recently did a story on the game and its sequel, even though they were released back in 2002. Not surprisingly, a lot of New Yorkers don’t really appreciate what New York Defender has to offer gamers.

The game has you attempting to shoot planes out of the sky as they careen towards the twin towers, first-person shooter style.

Part II is planted in a top-down view with airplanes taking off and landing constantly. Most of the planes are “friendly” and aren’t scheduled to terrorize anybody (hooray!), but occasionally a plane will radically change direction and identify itself as “hijacked” with a red circle.

The planes then race towards a landmark, such as the United Nations building, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge, and give you a very limited amount of time to suppress your respect for human life and blow those mothers out of the sky.

A lot of people who lost loved ones in the attacks refused to comment on the games, stating they didn’t want to give the site any publicity. Good job, NBC. You really messed up that plan… and I guess we did, too. Sorry!

If you’re not the type of sick bastard that thinks you are actually defending America with your patriotic eradication of other people, Uzinagaz offers other games separated into the following categories: Chaos, Savage, Action, Sport, and Wild Freedom.

In addition to New York Defender II and its prequel, you can choose between other winners like Mini Nuke, Kick Ass, Santa Sniper, Nude Runner, and Spermattack.

While I admit I’ve enjoyed a game or two of Taliban Barbers (that theme song rocks!), I can’t in good conscience recommend something like New York Defender II to anyone but the most disturbed of individuals (no offense – please don’t kill me!).

How any of this was deemed newsworthy by NBC is beyond me. Then again, I recently saw a news story on television about how snow makes roads slippery. I guess common sense has no place in the press these days.

A developer on the official Ninja Theory forums has aroused their fans with news that they are back to working hard. This is very soon after releasing their mammoth 4 year project that was Heavenly Sword, but not unheard of.

The Ninja (as each developer likes to be referred to) also regrettably says that they must be tight lipped, but that what they are working on is “pretty amazing”.

Very exciting indeed, since their first PS3 game was a beauty to look at with very high production values. A game that had moments of genius, but sadly fell a bit short.

What Ninja Theory’s next project might be, we could only hazard a guess. The sequel to Heavenly Sword would be likely, since Tameem Antoniades stated that it was one of a trilogy in an Insomniac Games podcast.

There were other hints at the premiere of Games Eden, a networking organisation in Cambridge, UK. At the event a Ninja Theory spokesperson repeatedly referred to their recently released game as “Heavenly Sword 1″, as noted by Eurogamer.

Keep your ears pricked, and your swords cocked – as we expect an announcement about Ninja Theory’s new project some time next year.

Skepticism aside, both Bioshock and Fallout 3 are paving the way for old, fallen PC gaming series to experience a renaissance. Maybe there’s room for a new Deus Ex, as well. Eidos Montreal’s policy of “long development cycles” bodes well for a quality threequel, even if it means we’re going to have to wait even longer for it to manifest.

In the time being, they’ve been kind enough to throw up a teaser trailer, with the camera circling around an augmented fetus. “What makes us who we are?” seems to be the driving concept and it certainly falls in line with the series’ classic focus on genetics and making important, story-changing choices. There’s not much else to glean, but the ambient background music taken from the original Deus Ex really brings back memories.

Now if we could only get Fox and WB to kiss and make up so Monolith could get to work on the next Kate Archer adventure.