Ubisoft has announced that it is bringing a version of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic to the Xbox 360 in early 2008 as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements. In this latest feature, we take an initial look at the game, as well as offer some insight from the game’s producer, Daniel Palix, who notes that balancing issues represented the most significant hurdle in bringing the PC action game to the home console market.
Says Palix: “The biggest challenge was having to rebalance the whole game because of all the changes we introduced. It is tricky to reach a good balance for all players, no matter what specialty they choose. We also had to ensure that the difficulty and challenge level would remain the same from beginning to end, meaning that getting a big sword and making extensive use of the environment with the kick move would no longer be an easy option to finish the game.”
You can read the entire feature here.
It was probably only a matter of time, but Ubisoft has announced that the earlier released PC title Dark Messiah of Might and Magic will come to the Xbox 360 in early 2008 as Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements.
The new game will be driven by Valve’s popular Source middleware, and will improve and expand upon the original PC title across twelve chapters of single and multiplayer gameplay. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements is being developed by Ubisoft’s Annecy studio (Splinter Cell series), supported by Valve and Arkane Studios.
While few specific details have been announced, Ubisoft has revealed that among the new features to be introduced in the game are new multiplayer maps that have been created exclusively for the Xbox 360, while all of the other PC version’s features have been retooled to take advantage of Xbox Live, including support for up to 10 players. The game will also include three previously unreleased secret levels with new objectives, gameplay, and rewards.
Of course, this is only part of the story, so Ubisoft offered up the words of the game’s producer, Daniel Palix, to give more clarification. Palix’s other credits include work as the producer of the online mode on Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow for the Xbox, as well as on Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and Splinter Cell Double Agent, both for the PS2 and Xbox.
What are the biggest changes you are bringing to the game for the Xbox 360?
For the Xbox 360 version, we are providing a variety of new content, as well as improving on the existing levels. On the solo part, new scenes have been added, thus providing an additional hour of game experience. These will be A
Future Publishing’s noted UK game magazine Edge has revealed its picks for the top 100 best video games of all time, lifting up N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the king of kings. The game was one of two Zelda titles in the top ten, with A Link to the Past ranking sixth on the chart.
Based on “thousands of votes” from the magazine’s readership, with input from industry professionals and Edge writers, nominating “hundreds of games, spanning across the last three decades,” the top ten games of all time, according to Edge, breaks down as follows:
1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)
2) Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, PlayStation 2)
3) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
4) Half-Life 2 (PC)
5) Super Mario World (Super Nintendo)
6) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super Nintendo)
7) Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
8) Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2)
9) Tetris (Various)
10) Super Metroid (Super Nintendo)
The full rundown will be featured in a 260-page collector’s book entitled ‘Edge Presents: The 100 Best Videogames’, which will go on sale tomorrow. For those of you in the states, I’m sure you’ll be able to track down a copy at your local Barnes & Noble in a few weeks.
So, reactions? Is Ocarina of Time deserving of such praise?
Microsoft has announced that it will be celebrating this Wednesday’s July 4 holiday with the release of Stainless Games’ Missile Command, a remake of Atari’s arcade classic, which could be yours for the low price of just 400 Microsoft Points ($5).
The game is the latest of six Atari classics making their way to the service, following April’s release of Centipede and Millipede. Other Atari classics announced for future releases include Battlezone, Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe, Tempest and Warlords.
The new version of Missile Command will include among its many upgrades new HD visuals, surround sound, and support for local and Xbox Live multiplayer for up to two players.
Missile batteries at the ready, soldier!
With E3 just a week away, God help me, Microsoft sent over the official badge that I assume I and everyone else planning on attending their press conference next week will have to have dangling around our collective necks. This year’s badge is, in my humble opinion, not quite a “cool” as last year’s plastic/metal concoction, as seen in the image below.
I imagine Tuesday will be a bit busy, though less so than the next two days, with me arriving in the early afternoon, as I bask in the social awkwardness of the IGJA’s Not An E3 party before moving on to what I fully expect to be another of Microsoft’s annual greenlit iridescent multimedia throw downs.
Look for a full report up on Gamasutra following the event, and rumblings from me over here on some the wackier things that I see and drink.
