According to a source that spoke to Siliconera, “Sony Computer Entertainment is recording a teaser for a future Killzone game” that apparently will take place after the events of Killzone 3. The rumor hints that Visari’s daughter–seen briefly in Killzone 3‘s opening cinematic–will be a feature character in the future game.

Siliconera’s source also revealed the dialogue for what appears to be the game’s opening political diatribe, a staple of the Killzone series.

My sons and my daughters, today we take the first step toward our imperial future.

For years, this once-great nation has stagnated in the shadow of its enemies. Governed by scoundrels who flaunted the ideals established by my father, these traitors… these enemies of our race have diluted and exploited the triad of Duty, Obedience, and Loyalty.

This regime, this corrupt regime, has been dissolved. In its place does rise an era of stability and strength. A time of opportunity born from a promise that we shall return our people to their proper sphere of dominance.

If the rumors about Visari’s daughter taking his place are true, this could be an interesting direction for the series. Personally, I think it’s interesting that they are bringing up the triad because it shows that the developers might be showcasing the series’ lore and backstory a little bit more–something I’m all in favor of.

[Source: Siliconera]

While Sony has insisted that they’re not going to reveal a new console at this year’s E3, Kotaku learned some potential details about the PS4 from a “reliable source.”

Hit the jump to read the rumors about Sony’s next-gen hardware.

All of these are just rumors for now, but Kotaku insists that this source is reliable and “has shared correct information with [Kotaku] before.” According to this source, the new console will aim for a late 2013 release and will be called the Playstation Orbis. This could be a code name or the final name, and when combined with Sony’s new handheld you get Orbis Vita which roughly means “orb of life” in Latin.

The source also states that some “secret developers” already have their hands on them, and the machine’s current specs include AMD x64 CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU. According to these rumors, it sounds like Sony is moving away from their Cell processors.

Finally, the most interesting and potentially inciting bit is the fact that the Orbis won’t be backwards compatible with PS3 games, and it will include measures to prevent gamers from playing used games. The source says that new games (available either on Blu-Ray or digitally via PSN) will be locked to the user’s PSN account. Of course to counter people from getting around this by playing games offline “you’ll need to have a PSN account and be online to even get the thing started.” Gamers buying games secondhand will “be limited to a trial mode or some other form of content restriction, with consumers having to pay a fee to unlock/register the full game.”

These are just rumors for the moment, but if they turn out to be true, I can’t imagine gamers being happy with some of these features (or non-features).

[Source: Kotaku]

Update: Blizzard released the following statement in regards to the job postings:  “We’re exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are currently looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team. As we’ve said in the past, with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we’re interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in such a project. If you’re passionate about all things Diablo and have the requisite skill and experience, then head over to our jobs site to check out the positions and apply.

Please note that this is not an announcement of a console title. We are first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs and don’t intend to allow any possibility of a console interpretation to delay or affect the release of the game.”

Well I guess that means console gamers won’t be slaying demons along side their PC brethren on Battle.net anytime soon. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, Blizzard will show a little love to those who play with controllers rather then just to those with the keyboards and mice.

Original: Today Blizzard Entertainment added a few job postings to its website that are causing quite a buzz on the Web. Apparently, Blizzard is looking to hire developers with console experience for Diablo III. Now one can only assume that Blizzard would want to hire console developers because they are planning a Diablo III console port, right?

While this may sound a little crazy to some gamers, (I mean Blizzard is pretty dedicated to developing for the PC) it is important to remember that the original Diablo hit the PlayStation one year after being releases on the PC. You also can’t forget about the of StarCraft N64 port.

The job postings are for “lead designer, console,” “lead programmer, console” and “senior producer, console” and all are listed under the “Diablo III” subheader.

Right now Blizzard has made no official announcement about a console port of Diablo III. All they have done so far is list a few jobs. Everything else is pure speculation; however the evidence is pretty stacked.

What do you guys think about this? Do you believe Blizzard is hiding a console port of Diablo III up its sleeve? Do you guys think Activision is behind this in some way? Lastly, do you think the actual mechanics of a Diablo game would work on a console? Let us know what you think with a comment below.

Source: Gamasutra.com

UPDATE: Today Sony confirmed that the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus bundle is in fact real and is slated to hit sometime Spring 2011. Confirmed features include: HD resolutions, PlayStation Network trophies,  support for 3D-o-vision, 30fps frame rate, and “extensive re-texturing.” The bundle will also include the European version of Ico, which had a different ending and a co-op mode.

Two days ago I wrote up a news story about a possible Ico/Shadow of the Colossus bundle hitting the PS3 sometime this Spring. Well, today it seems that this rumor has been confirmed… sort of.

According to the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, remastered, HD versions of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus will be released in Japan as individual titles, not bundled together. As of right now, no release date has been given for the Japanese releases.

While a North American bundle has yet to be announced, I think it would be a safe bet that non-Japanese gamers will be able to get their hands on these remastered games at some point. I mean, it’s a little far fetched to have a developer remaster two games so that they can sell them in Japan exclusively.

Also adding a bit more credibility to this rumor, German German retailer Webhallen added this professional looking box art to their bundle listing. Notice how similar it looks to the God of War Collection box art.

What do you guys think about this? Are you convinced that an Ico/Shadow of the Colossus bundle will hit sometime in the future? Let us know with a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

Over the weekend mega-retailer Walmart helped refuel rumors that Team Ico’s masterpieces, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, are headed to the PS3 by listing a Blu-ray Disc on its website bundling the two games together.

Over the past few years, numerous anonymous “industry sources” has told various media outlets that this bundle is indeed real and will hit stores around March or April 2011. These rumors also said that the bundle would cost $40, the price Walmart has the game listed for on their site.

The thing is, this bundle isn’t so far fetched considering Sony’s previous compilation releases, God of War Collection and The Sly Collection. If this rumor turns out to be true, let’s hope that Sony does the same sort of remastering seen in the God of War Collection.

I loved both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, but I definitely thought they were held back by the limitations of the PS2. I’d often find myself losing my immersion in the game due to the crappy frame rates. Nothing pulls you out of a game like getting hit with 15 FPS and having a two second delay between you hitting a button on the controller and your character preforming an action. Hopefully these issues will be resolved if/when this bundle comes out.

What do you guys think? Would you drop $40 on getting these two games remastered on the PS3? If so, what kind of extras would you want to see? More importantly, do you think that this rumor is real? On a side note, which of these two games did you enjoy more? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

While it has yet to be officially confirmed by Valve, Game Informer is reporting that the much anticipated first-person puzzler Portal 2 will hit stores on February 9, 2011. According to the magazine, which first revealed Portal 2 with it’s April 2010 cover story, this release date was confirmed by Valve employees at Gamescom 2010.

Apparently, Game Informer is also reporting that the new robo-buddy Wheatley, seen in the trailers, will be voiced by Stephen Merchant, best known for being the co-creator of The Office.

While I’m excited about this news, I still remain cautious. There is a reason why all Valve game release dates have a little asterisk next to them followed by the phrase “Valve time.” Valve has never been one to stick to release dates. Remember when Half-Life 2 was delayed for a year? To be honest, I prefer when Valve misses their release dates. It lets me know that they won’t release a product until it is up to their high standards.

Anyway, what do you guys think about this? Will Portal 2 fall victim to Valve time? How do you feel about Stephen Merchant being involved with the game? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

Surely forever is, well you know, forever.  So when 3D Realms went belly up last year we thought Duke was lost to development hell forever.  Well it appears that rumours running around Kotaku (yeah I know but stick with me) seem to indicate a new developer has stepped in to the fray.

No stranger to shooters or long development cycles, Gearbox are now in the frame as saviours of the misogynistic anti-hero.  The studio was previously revealed to have been working on Duke  Begins, a spin off collaborations between 3D Realms, Take Two and Gearbox that would compliment the Duke Nukem Forever release.  All news of Duke Begins quickly died when Duke Nukem Forever slipped out of sight, with only a brief mention in a court filling between Take-Two and 3D Realms mentioning it since.

Of all developers that I could see take on this project I think Gearbox would be pretty high up on my wish list along with long time developer comrades Raven and Starbreeze.  Whether this all turns out to be a large dollop of BS will become apparent over the next few weeks.  All parties are giving the standard “no comment” response to all queries.  The only glimmer of hope?  Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has mentioned that more news on upcoming Gearbox titles will be announced at PAX at the beginning of September.

Whether there is still a place for Duke Nukem Forever in our gaming lives is unclear.  Is this style of game still even relevant, especially as a full release title?  Look at Serious Sam HD for example.  A great title sure, but download was the correct pricing and medium for it in this current climate.  One last drip of rumour sauce?  There will be “something” playable by the end of this year.  No idea if this means a demo, open beta or the full release but time will tell.

[Update: in a brand new press release by Square Enix, they have confirmed Kingdom Hearts re:Coded - which is a remake of the mobile game Kingdom Hearts coded.]

After a quick interview with Game Informer, it was revealed that Tetsuya Nomura (Kingdom Hearts series Director) would release information on a brand new Kingdom Hearts game in addition to the upcoming PSP title Birth By Sleep.

Color me excited. I’ve been a huge fan of the series since Kingdom Hearts I, and even though Chain of Memories was a bit of a letdown, every other game has been more than serviceable. I really hope for Square Enix’s sake that it is Kingdom Hearts III, though: I don’t know how much longer than can coast on the fumes of all the spinoffs they’ve put out. Expect coverage of not only the new game, but my upcoming Birth By Sleep preview as well!

GoldenEye was a landmark time in the industry’s history.  For many, it marked the success of the FPS and it certainly was a defining moment for the N64.  Likewise, many of us can recount the days when parties would consist of four friends huddled around a 14 inch TV screen to play one of the four player modes.  Gawd, those were the good ole days.

At this very moment, it just kind of dawned of me that GoldenEye is the best and most successful film to video game crossover we’ve ever seen.  On an unrelated note, according to leaked sources, Activision has decided to flog it til it’s dead remake the game that Rare made so popular. 

The game is supposedly to be updated and “modernized” to feature Daniel Craig.  Taking advantage of today’s technology, it’ll have the classic 4 player split screen and support up to 8 players online.  As well, a golden controller and a gun shell for the wii mote is rumored to be released alongside the release of the game.

According to Eurogamer.net, “Development duties have been split between UK-based Eurocom and US-based n-Space.”  Also rumored, the game will be released sometime in November and will be announced at this year’s E3.

Source: GoNintendo, Eurogamer.net

Now I’m not sure how far back your gaming lineage goes, but Rayman creator Michel Ancel made an absolute blinder of a game called Beyond Good and Evil back in November 2003.  Unfortunately this game slipped through the cracks of many a gamers mind. With poor sales despite rave critical reception, this game was consigned to the bargain bins after only a few month.   What many missed was an absolute master class in story telling and interaction.

Well, the great news was unveiled back in 2008 that Michel Ancel and Ubisoft were working on a sequel to the much-loved title.  Trouble is, everything has been deathly quiet over at Ubisoft’s French HQ about the games development, prompting many to ask where it was. Earlier this year a Ubisoft Exec went on record as saying the games was “Still in development” and many breathed a heavy sigh of relief – until now.

A rumour has now broken forth, via a French source, stating that Ancel, along with another “star developer”, have removed themselves from the employ of Ubisoft.  The reason being that they want to set up and manage their own production company in France.  This has immediately prompted the notion that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is dead in the water.   Without the main creative force behind the project it would be hard to proceed.

What lends weight to this particular revelation is that multiple rumors have been swirling since the initial teaser trailer was shown back in 2008 that Ancel and Ubisoft were at odds over the games development and direction.  If this game is actually canned, then it will be a very sad day indeed.  The promise of this game was one of the things I had been most looking forward to at E3.  We will see what transpires over the coming few days and weeks.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 teaser trailer follows:

Sony really are terrible at keeping secrets.  Maybe it’s just indicative of distributed journalism with the advent of specialist blogs (like the one you are reading in fact).  Either way Sony just seem to be unable to keep any secret under it’s proverbial hat for very long.

Over the past month or so more than a few rumours have been circling about the existence of Killzone 3, the sequel to the 2009 Playstation 3 exclusive.

Now a sequel to Killzone 2 was inevitable and it looks like the pressure finally got to Sony and they went  formal release crazy over the weekend and yesterday (the full press release is at the end of this post).

Well as soon as the news broke everyone was throwing around guessed release dates and supposed feature sets.  Well it looks like, from a CVG source close to game developer Guerilla, that Sony is aiming for a May 2011 release date for the shooter.   This seems the most logical release date due to the fact that Call of Duty: Black Ops and the Medal of Honour reboot will be slugging it out in October and November this year.

The update will feature 2D as well as 3D stereoscopic visuals, maps up to ten time larger than those found in Killzone 2, two and four player co-op and will pick up immediately after the (boss fight frustrating!) end of Killzone 2.

Formal press release follows:

The Helghast are back. Killzone 3 announced for PlayStation 3

The war is far from won. Get ready for an epic battle against the deadliest enemies on PS3

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has confirmed the return of its iconic first person shooter, Killzone, to PlayStation 3. Bringing back the trademark ferocious action on a grand scale, Killzone 3 is an explosive cinematic experience more intense than ever before. Loaded with more vehicles, explosive high powered weapons and a vicious close-combat system, resume the fight against a remorseless Helghast Army of colossal proportions. This is David vs. Goliath…if Goliath had thousands of troops and a thermonuclear arsenal.

The story begins where Killzone 2 left off, with Visari, the vicious Helghast dictator, lying dead at the feet of Special Forces soldiers Sev and Rico. The battle may have been won but the war is far from over. Visari’s death has left behind a world of political scheming, infighting and outright murder. Meanwhile his parting gift, a nuclear bomb detonated in Phyruss, the Helghan Capital, has decimated the ISA invasion force. With no re-enforcements and supplies quickly running out, you must now fight against ruthless Helghast war machine alone.

An epic cinematic war experience

With levels ten times bigger than in Killzone 2, this is Helghan like you’ve never seen it before. You’ll face brutal combat in a host of environments that threaten to bury you on the deadly planet. Killzone 3 will see you trudge through toxic nuclear wastelands, get lost in a lethal alien jungle, fight in bitter arctic conditions and take the battle into space as you fight against Helghast domination – with every location featuring a distinct gameplay style for you to master.

Be at the centre of the action

Killzone 3 will be fully playable in Stereoscopic 3D, immersing you more deeply into the ferocious world and putting you at the heart of the action. But be careful. While you experience this world in incredible, High Definition, Stereoscopic 3D detail – you’ll learn to fear what’s around every single corner.

Take on an even more vicious Helghast army

The Helghast are back and they’re bigger and fiercer than you’ve ever seen them. From Jetpack troopers to enemies wielding portable weapons of mass destruction, your enemies will be tougher, scarier and equipped with a host of new toys in their quest for destruction.

Hideo Kojima is a busy developer lately.  In addition to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PlayStation Portable, the architect of Metal Gear Solid is involved in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  Some recent Twitter updates picked up by Andria Sang and Gamespot indicate that Kojima has another project in the planning phase.

While details are scarce, Kojima says that “The project plan still hasn’t reached a detailed level, but everything is advancing simultaneously in my head. Title, game design, story, characters, setting research, the mech that appear, casting, graphic direction, sound, beginning and ending, the major story sequences. It comes together naturally in my head.”

Kojima then raises the stakes, in a post indicating he’s taking this project quite seriously: “The next project will challenge a certain type of taboo.  If I mess up, I’ll probably have to leave the industry. However, I don’t want to pass by avoiding that. I turn 47 this year. It’s been 24 years since I started making games. Today, I got an ally who would happily support me in that risk. Although it’s just one person. For a start, it’s good.”

Kojima seems to be placing a lot of emphasis on how this taboo will make or break this upcoming project, though all we know is that it involves mechs.  We still have Twitter to thank for this interesting development.