Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Ubisoft have just confirmed another Call Of Juarez (the cowboy FPS series from Techland) game, this time called The Cartel. Here’s what they say about it: “Call of Juarez The Cartel is set in present-day and brings the best elements of the Wild West to a new and modern setting. As a first person shooter with an immersive and mature story, players can expect to embark on a journey like no other – one that will take them from the heart of modern day Los Angeles, California to Juarez, Mexico.”

It will also have a “gritty and relevant plot”, and it will be out this summer. I also hear Ubi preview events a-callin’, so proper details shouldn’t be too far away.

That is the most short words we have ever had in the headline bar. Thanks, Rift! Also: yes, there’s a 6-day open beta, which you can secure a place for by signing up in advance at this internet web address link. Trion Worlds say of the event: “A tireless and unending horde, invaders from the planes continue their assault on Telara. The final (beta) battle is at hand and the fate of the planet depends on the courage and strength of Telara’s champions. Become one of the Ascended and fight for a world that’s on the brink of losing all hope.” There are also NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 video cards to be won by defeating dungeon bosses. Details here.

Today’s finest music in a trailer is… the unlikely jazzy elevator music that is featured in the Cities In Motion “Tram” trailer. Does the game feature this music? If so, sign me up. The video shows some light-rail tram infrastructure being installed. Also. So. Hot.

In related news, the game is out on 22nd of Feb. Additionally, the open beta is still “in motion”. See? In motion? Like the game title? Everyone okay with that?

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I was never really disturbed by the actual Child’s Play movies, because they were rubbish, but for some reason this being the first link in my inbox this morning – informing me that someone has created a Chucky mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – left me feeling a bit queasy.

That is all.

You may remember that only four days ago Jim spoke to Spiral’s David Prassel about their forthcoming indie shooter, ORION: Prelude. A lot of the same sentiments about their desire to change how games are made, as well as played, are captured in a new video they’ve put together, called The Indie Dream. Bear with it for the first minute or so – the dodgy slidey pics of artwork move aside from some entertaining in-game footage of dinosaurs fighting humans. You can see it below.

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BigDownload got the scoop on The Sims Medieval trailer, which I’ve reposted below. It’s mostly stuff we’ve seen before, but it’s got a jester, some fighting, a blue pit-monster, and romaaaaance! Actually, these two trailers are better for pure information. In terms of commentary: why, yes, I’m certainly looking forward to seeing this weird RPG/person-sim hybrid. It could be a fun direction for the series to head in.
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Arcen Games, famed for AI War, financial troubles, and causing a shortage of iron, have announced their new game: A Valley Without Wind. It’s quite the concept: survival in a procedurally generated world, exploration, magic, and… perma-death? Interesting. Read on to find out more. (So much more, that there’s another instalment tomorrow.)
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And for once, that appears to be an accurate use of the word. “Mature” in a game rating tends to mean anything but. But once again BioWare are offering sexual freedom as one of the many ways you’re free to define your experience of Dragon Age II. It means if you want to roleplay a gay character, you can.

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Here’s a sliver of information from Big Download, that steaming roast carcass of news. For reasons Taylor summarises as “a timing thing”, Gas Powered Games has “put the project on hold” after a year of development. Details on the game itself are still quite hazy. We know it’s an RTS featuring airships, dragons, knights, chickens and (presumably) castles that will let players take on the role of a king, but that’s all I’ve got. You can watch the latest Kings and Castles development video blog thingum after the jump. It was released back in the Octobertime and features Chris saying the studio will be taking “a bit of a break”.
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Via Blues I notice that Japanese driving franchise Ridge Racer (Riiiiiiiidge Raaaceeeerrrrr) is, for the first time, coming to the PC! Yes. But not the Ridge Racer you know and potentially love. No. In the increasingly common practice of Japanese publishers farming their licenses out to Western games developers, Namco Bandai has given Helsinki-based devs Bugbear (makers of the popular racing series FlatOut) the task of constructing Ridge Racer: Unbounded. And it’s… well, take a look at the trailer below.
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Sundays. Sundays are for obsessively going back through a collection of writing from the past ten years and trying to work out the bits that might just be valuable in the next ten years. It’s also for grabbing an internet-telescope and peering out into the murky reaches of videogame commentary. What is that big tentacled thing in the mist?

• Bulletstorm is looking fantastic, but the puerile nature of the manshoot has some people concerned – like Richard Clark over at Gamasutra. His take is well worth reading: “By encouraging players to pull off such skillshots as “Facial”, “Gang Bang” and “Bad Touch”, Bulletstorm becomes far more than just another violent videogame. Mortal Kombat’s spine-removal and explosive blown kisses seem perfectly reasonable (and very well may be) in the face of Bulletstorm’s seemingly complete lack of any social responsibility.” Made all the more interesting by the lead designer of Bulletstorm, Adrian Chmielarz, turning up in the comments: “I do believe this industry will only be considered mature only once it stops being ashamed of itself.”

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