Lionhead’s headcount is down by one as Fable 2lead designer, Richard Ham, has left the company to take on the role of creative director at Splash Damage, the UK-based developer of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Ham, who has worked on games such as The Moviesand the first two Syphon Filtertitles on PSone, will head up development of an as-of-yet unrevealed action game for his new employer.
In a Q&A on Splash Damage’s site, Ham talks about his fondness for the original Syphon Filter, calling it his favorite project he’s worked on – and it sounds like he’s working on something similar now. Speaking about his new project, he said that “what Splash is doing is so cool, I just couldn’t turn down the offer,” adding, “In fact, there’s a lot in it that’s similar to what I wanted to do in Syphon Filter 3, back when it was going to be a PS2 launch title, but that I never got the chance to do. So I couldn’t turn down the chance to be involved.” So … Funnel Strainer?
Embedded above is a newly released trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylumand, just as one could expect from the game’s title, there are quite a few crazies running amok. The Joker seems as deranged as ever, Batman looks to be stressed, there’s an overly large (possibly steroid fueled), chain wielding baddie on the loose and well, everything is rather gloomy. Actually, the game doesn’t look too bad.
This comparison video shows a side-by-side comparison of how Mirror’s Edge for the PC will look with and without Nvidia PhysX turned on. Make note that the video is silent and intentionally slowed down at certain points to show off the PhysX capabilities. The freerunning game is scheduled to release for PC on January 13. Download HD Mirror’s Edge PhysX Comparison Video (86 MB) Check out all Mirror’s Edge downloads
The House of Representatives and the Senate will discuss and likely vote on the Automaker Bailout Bill (we know, it’s not technically a bailout, but rather loans that will be paid back) tomorrow, and the first discussion draft of the bill has hit the internet. The discussion bill is 31 pages long, and like you we’re not about to spend our Monday evening reading through the whole thing. Thankfully, some real auto journalists over at The Detroit Free Press have done that for us.
They report that the bill contains provisions for a federal official, or “Car Czar” as the position will no doubt be referred to, who would oversee distribution of the funds and have authority to yank them back if an automaker is deemed to be using them ineffectively. The bill also requires automakers to submit another restructuring plan by March 31, 2009, after which the Car Czar could use his or her powers to reopen negotiations with the company, its creditors and the United Auto Workers union.
Part of the bill also stipulates that if the Detroit 3 accepts these loans, they must promise to stop pursuing litigation aimed at striking down California’s right to set its own emissions standards and other states’ right to adopt them. The California Air Resources Board has created emissions standards the are generally more strict than federal standards, and so far 17 states have chosen to adopt the Golden State’s measures.
Detroit is backed into a corner, however, and will likely accept any conditions that Congress attaches to the bailout bill. With that in mind, Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House say that approval for the bill is likely, which would see around $15 billion in federal loans granted to the Detroit 3 as soon as December 15th.
Are you ready for a vision of your inevitable end at the hands of a hovering murderbot? Feast your eyes, then, on this video of the Missile Defense Agency’s MKV-L — or as we like to call it, the Multiple Kill Vehicle. The device — meant to be used in a bundle of missile interceptors deployed by a larger “carrier” — has apparently just completed its first flight test, so… you’ve been warned, resistance is futile, he’ll be back, and in space no one can hear you scream. [Warning: read link is a PDF]
Click on the Highcroft Acura for a high res gallery from the Detroit Sports Car Challenge
The current economic climate has only just started to wreak havoc in the motorsports world, with last week’s announcements that Honda is pulling out of F1 and Audi is leaving the American LeMans Series. Things are likely to get worse before they get better as other automakers, including those based in Detroit, will almost certainly cut racing programs and budgets.
What won’t be affected – at least for now – are Honda’s non-F1 endeavors, including its motorcycle programs, the Indy Racing League and the American Le Mans Series. The ALMS and IRL programs are both operated by Honda Performance Development out of Torrance, CA. Unlike the F1 program, the IRL engine program generates revenue from the teams that lease these engines. The Acura ALMS program will definitely continue in 2009 as the team moves up from the LMP2 to the LMP1 class. The big bummer is that Acura won’t have any competition from the Audi R10, which is leaving the ALMS next year.
As we have reported on before the sci-fi themed game gives players command of bases they must defend from a variety of aliens who are attacking your location. The full game features 20 levels, 15 different kinds of enemies and 10 different types of tower defenses, each with three upgrades. For more info on the game, check out our recent interview with Hidden Path.CEO Jeff Pobst.
There are two things we realized after watching the above live action Mirror’s Edgecommercial. One, the commercial is very cool. Two, we should really get in shape. The commercial showcases two men, one of whom — let’s call him Jumpy O’Flannagan — is pursuing the other — we have dubbed him Flippy McGee. We hate to spoil it for you, but in the end Jumpy just isn’t a match for old Flippy. Still, both men manage to perform some amazing physical feats, even if several of them aren’t actually possible in Mirror’s Edge itself. For that matter, apart from some box art at the end of the video, there really isn’t any mention of the actual game. But who cares, it looks cool, and that’s what the kids like, right?
We love nothing better than a good blurry photo around here to add a little dose of vague confusion to the rumor mill. These two artistically hazy snaps are purported to be of a US-bound T-Mobile Samsung Behold-style phone with an 8-megapixel camera. Tmo News is also reporting that it’s going to run on Touchwiz, the same UI as the Behold, and that it’s called the Memoir. We don’t have any other details for now, but we’ll let you know as soon as we see a fuzzy scan of a semi-redacted press release.
Ten years before Chrysler introduced the world to minivans, General Motors had already developed its own version. Toyota sold the Prius at a loss for years before it became popular while GM leased a fleet of electric EV1s for three years before deciding it would never turn a profit. Honda and Toyota both sold small, efficient vehicles for decades even though their sales were relatively small and profits less than stellar. Meanwhile, GM spent billions to establish Saturn to compete with small import cars, only to let the brand go five years with no new products.
At least that’s the way this New York Times story looks at GM’s recent history. Through several interviews, the newspaper paints a picture of a company driven more by short term profits than ingenuity. GM board member George Fisher is quoted in the story saying, “We were late on hybrids. Why were we late? We made a business decision as opposed to a marketing decision. That’s probably a mistake, in retrospect.”
For GM’s sake, hopefully the company’s leaders have learned from history and will renew the automaker’s innovative spirit with or without its pending government loan.
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