We get the news on Diablo 3 Straight from the Blizzard booth at PAX.

d3During our coverage of the Penny Arcade (PAX) Expo in Seattle, I got the chance to stop by the Blizzard booth and talk to one of the talented people behind the pending Diablo 3. While our time was limited, I was able to get some information on the game. I want to thank Kacy for taking the time from the very busy convention to arrange this.
Barbarian and Witch Doctor are confirmed classes and each will have their own unique abilities and items.

Health orbs after kills. In one of the most interesting changes to the series, the roles of potions will be changed. They will no longer be as abundant as they previously were. Instead, gamers will collect health from fallen foes to replenish health. This will allow for more action as injured players will have to face off and defeat enemies to gather needed health.

Potions While there will be potions in the game as mentioned, they will be rarer and of a more special nature. The goal is for players to have less resource management in combat as having to click away from enemies and arrange and click toolbars in combat is to be avoided as much as possible.

Music While it has yet to be finalized, the plan is for the game to have the same style and tone of music as in the previous games.

Number of players co-op. While past games in the series allowed 8 players to co-op through the game’s missions, Diablo 3 may allow even more people to work the game or selected missions as a group.

Dungeon trap strategies. I had mentioned that past games in the series often set traps where players would peruse an enemy into an area only to find themselves boxed in and trapped by a surprise attack. I was told that this certainly may be something players would encounter but that the goal is to not make the game to difficult to play and would be about as hard to play as the past two games in the series. Also, as in previous games, the style of combat and strategies may differ from dungeons to above ground. As mentioned above, dungeons allow for some traps.

Controls With the reduction of potions, the game will be designed so players will not have to mainly use the mouse when playing which will limit the amount of needed interaction with the keyboard.

Length While it has yet to be determined, the game will be about same length as the previous games in the series as the number of number of acts has not been decided yet.

Gareth On The Radio Tuesday and an Interview on the Far Cry Movie

Hello

I just got back from having a look around the Expo Hall and picking up my pass. This looks great. Just wanted to let you all know that I will be looking at the top games of PAX Tuesday morning at 6:30 on the BJ Shea morning experience. BJ and Gabe had a nice segment this morning and I am really looking forward to the Weekend.

I come on the show 6-8 times a year to talk movies and games on behalf of my site www.sknr.net
You can listen at 99.9 FM or online at KISW.com.

Thought you might like this story they did. I have a very small part in the film but was up covering it. At least it is bigger than my part in POSTAL. They also have a link in the story for an interview I did with Uwe where he talks about Far Cry and the upcoming election. I figured since it is game related and he was a guest at PAX last year, you may find it interesting.

http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1310

Thank you,

See you at the Convention this weekend.

Gareth

Death Race

DRIn 1975, legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman showed audiences a look at the near future with a biting film that deftly blended action and political commentary and satire. The film was “Death Race 2000” and starred David Carradine and featured a pre-“Rocky” Sylvester Stallone as bitter rivals in a brutal cross country race where finishing first was second only to the amount of death and carnage a driver left in their wake.

The film became a cult hit, and paved the way for films such as “Rollerball”, “Arena”, and countless other films that featured bloodlust sporting events for the masses a la Rome in the age of gladiators at the coliseum. Thirty-three years later, audiences are given the new and upgraded “Death Race” which benefits from a bigger budget with more carnage than the original film that inspired it ever dreamed of.
The film opens with an eerie warning of today’s troubled economic times, stating that the U.S.
economy collapses in 2012 and record unemployment and crime sweep the nation. With prisons overcrowded, corporations run correctional facilities for a profit and soon offer caged matches between inmates for the viewing pleasure of the nation. At first the matches are a huge success but soon lose their appeal to an audience that is eager for even bloodier sport.

In an effort to keep the cash flowing, the Death Race is created which pits convicts against one another in a brutal mix of speed, firepower, and death which in a few years surpasses even the Super Bowl as the most watched sporting event in the world.

Jason Statham stars as Jensen Ames, a former race driver who is framed for the murder of his wife and faces the prospect of life in prison while his daughter is raised by strangers. With the Death Race losing some if its audience, its creator, and warden of the prison, Hennessey (Joan Allen), offers Jensen a solution to both of their problems. If Jensen will pose as the masked Frankenstein for the race and win, he will be granted his freedom. It is learned that the real Frankenstein has finally succumbed to the numerous injuries he has incurred racing, and rather than risk losing his vast legions of fans who drive the ratings, it is easier to replace him than lose him, especially since recent races without Frankenstein had not garnered the same ratings as his past races.

It is explained that should a driver win five death races, they will be set free. Since Frankenstein has won four races, all Jensen has to do is win the race and stay alive to earn his freedom. Jensen is faced with an menacing list of adversaries including the deadly Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), who is the biggest threat to Jensen with an absolute hatred for Frankenstein. Gun Joe is a cold-blooded killer who wants nothing more than two more race wins to earn his freedom and will stop at nothing to get it.

Jensen is assisted by the talented Coach (Ian McShane), who dispenses wisdom while overseeing the crew that outfits Jensen’s suped up, armor-plated, and very heavily armed racer. Assigned to ride with Jensen as his Navigator is Case (Natalie Martinez), a female prisoner who, like many of her fellow navigators, sees the race as a chance to earn their freedom and other special perks which makes risking their lives a worthwhile endeavor.

As the race unfolds in three stages, Jensen is tasked with not only surviving the threats Machine Gun Joe and the other racers aim his way, but surviving the twisted scheme that has him in its grasp.
The action of the film is fast, brutal, and unforgiving and is easily the highlight of the film. Sadly there are plenty of scenes with stiff and uninspired characters, numerous plot holes and leaps of logic, and clichés that bog the film down.

Statham is his usual soft talking hard man, a character he has made a career out of playing in such films as the “Crank” and the “Transporter” series. But unlike those films, he is not given much material to work with here. Statham has done solid work in the past but Jensen is a paper thin character who never fully given a chance to develop nor be embraced by the audience.

The same is true for the rest of the cast, a talented ensemble left to languish in want of better material. The film is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson of the “Resident Evil” series who once again shows that he has an eye for action, but still has issues with pacing and unsympathetic characters. This is a shame as the premise of the film is solid, but unlike the original, lacks the social and political commentary needed to balance the carnage and mayhem.

With a little more time in shop and tinkering, this could have been a solid action film, instead it stalls at the starting line badly in need of a tune up.

2.5 stars out of 5.

Uwe Boll Talks Far Cry, and the Coming Presidential Election.

FCRecently I had the chance to speak with Director Uwe Boll about his upcoming movie “Far Cry” which is based on the 3d Shooter from Ubisoft and Crytek. I want to thank Uwe and Bill for taking the time to make this interview happen and for answering my questions.

GVK: What is the Background and setting of the film?

UB: In FAR CRY we could really follow the game story this time. Jack Carver –an ex elite soldier – rents now boats out and the journalist Valerie charters his boat to check out the island of Dr. Krieger (Udo Kier) who is doing gene-experiments to form new soldiers .

GVK: What can you tell me about your greatest challenges and greatest moments making the film?

UB: We were lucky with the cast and the weather . Til Schweiger is perfect as Jack Carver – he got a sniper Education in the German army ..so he knows what he is doing.

GVK: What drew you to making this film and what are some other games you would be interested in bringing to the screen?

UB: FAR CRY is the biggest hit game I turned so far into a movie. It’s a great action game with a lot of fun included. I made now a lot of different genres inside the game to movie business.
I always look out for interesting new games.

GVK: Can you tell the readers please what was working with Til Schweiger, Udo Kier, and Emmanuelle Vaugier like, and a bit about their characters?

UB: Schweiger is physical really fit what he showed also in LARA CROFT and KING ARTHUR. Udo plays DR. Krieger so evil and so funny that we had a blast every day on set. And Emmauelle is a no attitude straight forward actress –easy to work with.

GVK: When I visited the set, I was told some changes had to be made from the video game, can you talk about this and explain the process behind it as many readers often ask me why movies of games differ so much from the games.

UB: There are no so many changes this time as normal because the FAR CRY story is really developed and working also as film. In Detail we had to adjust and change some stuff – because a game never really has a last act

GVK: Can you talk about the design of the film in regards to the sets and the look of the creatures and how this changed from concept to filming?

UB: Our production designer TINK made a great job (he did also HOUSE OF THE DEAD, ALONE IN THE DARK, POSTAL and SEED) and we developed Dr. Kriegers lab a little in the spirit of CLOCKWERK ORANGE (one of my favorite films). Heavy involved in the MUTANTS movement was our SFX producer Doug Oddy – who did all my movies after HOUSE OF THE DEAD. We had to isolate the Mutants in every shot and change their movements –so that we had two different speeds in the same shot.

GVK: Would you classify the film as horror or action, and what challenges did the action sequences in this film possess?

UB: I think its 70% action and 30% horror. The action sequences were heavy and especially the car and boat chase are on James Bond level. Scott Ateah –who did I ROBOT coordinated this chases Not only 1 helicopter crashed…

GVK : Since Far Cry can be argued to be the biggest and most successful game you have ever made into a film, are there extra pressures as opposed to say “House of the Dead” or “Bloodrayne”?

UB: No. I know only that UBISOFT was pissed because I bought the movie rights very early directly from the developers CRYTEK.

GVK: With the end of the Bush era in site, what do you think of the two candidates to replace him and what do you think their greatest challenges will be when one of them becomes the new President?

UB: OBAMA will make it or I will loose any trust in American intelligence. If this country hasn’t learned after 8 years of Bush – then they will never learn. Of course OBAMA will also not do it all right – but he cannot be worse as Bush and McCain is just to old . You can make a 72 years old guy a president?

GVK: With Postal coming to DVD soon, do you have a sense of vindication that your film will at last be available to the people, and how has the experience of getting the film to screen changed you as a person and a Director?

UB: I never traveled so much with a movie and I never felt better about a movie. I’m proud that I did POSTAL. For some people the movie is maybe to early made – and to insulting and to incorrect – but who cares? I think POSTAL was necessary and I’m proud that the movie will be now everywhere on DVD. The actor Chris Coppola said about POSTAL: “Postal will set a new standard for absurd comedy!”

GVK: Recently there was talk of a proposed censorship bill in Canada. Can you give the readers and update on this and can you tell them how filmmaking in B.C. has changed in the last few years?

UB: The Canadian $ is too strong …so it is not so really appealing anymore to shoot in Canada. If that censorship rule gets effective – then I THINK the film industry in Canada goes down the drain.

GVK: What projects are you working on next and which films and games are you most looking forward to?
UB: My prison movie STOIC is now done a I’m looking forward to get it out after “1968 TUNNELRATS” and “FAR CRY” are out.

Space Siege Interview

SSRecently we got the chance to talk with the folks at Sega about Space Siege. I want to thank Denny for making the interview happen.

GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

Space Siege is an action/role-playing game from Gas Powered Games. Set in the future, it starts with an alien invasion of Earth. The aliens successfully destroy the planet, but a few colony ships manage to escape. The player’s character, Seth Walker, is onboard the Armstrong, and it serves as the setting for the game. Unfortunately, the aliens—called the Kerak—are able to attach a pod to the ship, so the first task is to get rid of the invading aliens.

GVK: What are some of the units featured and their abilities and can you talk about the ability to customize your character and the repercussions that this can have in game?

There are a number of enemies in Space Siege, from different types of the Kerak to some surprise enemies.

While you can’t change your character’s general appearance, you can upgrade your visual look by acquiring different armor and weapon upgrades. The game’s biggest customization option is choosing whether or not to install various cybernetic upgrades. This choice forces you to decide how much you’re willing to sacrifice your own humanity in order to save humanity. The choices you make affect your character’s stats and give you different “pure” or “cyber” abilities.

GVK: What can you tell us about the A.I. players in the game and how they will interact with the player character?

In the earliest parts of the game, you rescue a number of characters who play important roles as the story develops. You have conversations with these characters throughout the game, as they’re back at a “home base” area trying to research the Kerak and determine what’s going on in other parts of the Armstrong.

GVK: How is resource management handled and will players be able to trade and salvage?

Players can find cybernetic pieces and weapons in the environment, and creatures drop “parts,” which can be used to upgrade your character at workbenches.

GVK: What can you tell the readers about how the Robot Sidekicks will be used in game?

Seth’s robotic companion is a Hodgsons Robotics Unit Mark V; “HR-V” for short. HR-V can be customized to use different weapons the player can find in the game. Proper use of HR-V is vital to a player’s eventual success.

GVK: What sort of weapons will players be able to use and how is combat handled in the game?

Combat uses a point-and-click interface; select your target, and fire away. There are a half-dozen weapons in the game, and each can be upgraded to add additional damage.

GVK: How will players save their progress in game?

The game auto-saves every time a player uses one of the health stations, which are liberally placed on each level, but players are free to save their progress at any point of the game.

GVK: What forms of Multiplay will the game offer?

The game has one multiplayer mode, which consists of a unique set of co-operative missions for 2-4 players that are set on a different ship. You create a multiplayer character that can be saved for future multiplayer games, with all of your upgrades and “parts” intact.

NCAA Football 09

ncaaWith Fall on the horizon, it will soon be time for collegiates all over the nation to gear up for fierce gridiron combat. In NCAA Football 09 by EA Sports, fans can get into the action in style. Playing on my Playstation 3 with the Dual Shock 3 control, I was easily able to setup and start the game. I chose to play the all new mascot play to start which allowed me to play as Harry the Husky the beloved mascot of my alma matter The University of Washington.

Matched against the Fighting Falcons of the Air Force Academy, I was able to select to play at Husky Stadium and select the length of the games quarters. Once the action was underway, I was amazed at the ease of kicking which is often very tricky in sports game of this type. A simple nudge of the left stick selected angle and power and a push of the right stick sent the ball soaring.

I was able to select from a number of offensive and defensive formations as well as listen to commentary from ESPN announcer. Control of the players was easy and I loved the way I was able to slip tackles, flip, and leap to snag passes or knock them away. As happy as I was with intercepting two passes, I sadly through several of my own, mainly in the Red Zone that killed drives.

The gameplay was much like watching a game on television at times as there are ads for real sponsors for various segments of the game. Some may find this distracting but I really liked it as I found it added a touch of realism to the game. Another nice touch was the detail of the game down to the classic siren playing whenever I managed to get the UW team on the board.

Of course players can also select from numerous NCAA teams and allows you to select a favorite. When leaving the mascots to the sidelines the game offers some unique perks such as a home field advantage where certain players are sharper when playing at home and a breakaway engine which allows jukes, stiff arming, spins, flips, and more.

A nice touch was the ability to store photos taken during the game of classic moments from gameplay which allows players to keep a record of the best plays from their games.

The game supports 1-4 players and allows two players to face each other online. I enjoyed the way the designers loaded up the fun factor of the game rather than forcing me to focus on so much micro management which I believe bogs down to many sports game. When I play a sports game I want fun, and action, not a lesson in frustration in dealing with blocking schemes, passing angles, and so on. If I pick the right play, and execute correctly, then I can expect to succeed.

Developer EA Sports
Rating E
Creativity 5 Longevity 5
Graphics 4 Fun 5
Sound 4 Na Fi Final Score 4.5

Kung Fu Killer

In order to avenge the murder of his Grandmaster, White Crane (David Carradine), uses his martial arts training to infiltrate the criminal underground. Along the way he meets a singer (Daryl Hannah), and must walk the line between justic and murder.

A very entertaining if formulaic revenge tale features tons of action and a few nice twists. Carradine is rivetiing and grows on the performance he did in Kill Bill and his classic Kung Fu series to portray a more complex character.

Very enjoyable and a pleasant suprise.