• Will EA Continue Development on Star Wars: Battlefront III?

    Earlier this week, it was announced that Electronic Arts had acquired the rights to exclusive produce Star Wars video games from Disney, who came into ownership of that license a few months back. It was also revealed last month that Star Wars: Battlefront III was indefinitely halted and all development had ceased on the title.

    When you look at the initial announcement of all in-development LucasArts properties being halted combined with the announcement that EA would be making all future Star Wars games...well, it's hard not to speculate. Chances are, nothing will ever come of Battlefront III but with the cult popularity of the first two titles, it isn't impossible to think that EA may dig it back up out of development hell and put it in the hands of some talented developers.

    Electronic Arts has already announced that Visceral Games, DICE and BioWare are all pledged to beginning production on a Star Wars title so who's to say that DICE won't bring their talents at creating great first-person shooters as well as the might of Frostbite 3 to the table with Battlefront III?

    To understand the likelihood of this, you have to ask yourself the all-important question - the same question that EA will be asking themselves right about now - what does Electronic Arts stand to gain from resuming development on Star Wars: Battlefront III?

    As it turns out, quite a lot actually.

  • Bethesda Announces Wolfenstein: The New Order, Here's What You Can Expect

    Bethesda Softworks announced this morning that they will be publishing a brand new entry into the Wolfenstein franchise. Oddly enough, this is one of the franchises that we proposed rebooting in our feature article yesterday. We can only assume that Bethesda read our post and instantly rebooted the franchise based on our suggestion. That being said, you're welcome everyone.

    As for the game, it's going to be called Wolfenstein: The New Order. So what can you expect from the game?

    At this time, we don't know much about The New Order but that will change in the coming weeks. What we do know, however, is what Wolfenstein games have been like in the past and that should give us an idea of what to expect with this upcoming title.

  • 4 First-Person Franchises That Deserve a Reboot

    Rebooting classic gaming franchises is a risky endeavor, and it doesn't always work out the way the fans would hope. When EA announced that they were rebooting Medal of Honor a few years back, fans were pretty excited to see the direction that the franchise would go.

    What they got, however, was a game that did its level best to merge the most interesting elements of Battlefield and Call of Duty but failed on pretty much all fronts. When that failure was repeated in Medal of Honor: Warfighter, EA themselves admitted that the reboot had failed and put the franchise back on the shelf.

    Regardless of past failures, the past contains a veritable treasure trove of amazing opportunities that developers and publishers can cash in on if they are smart and do them the right way. This holds true across the board, but specifically in first-person shooters as well. Medal of Honor was a disaster, just about anyone can admit that, but that doesn't mean that bringing back some of the more popular first-person franchises is always a bad move.

    Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the first-person franchises that we would love to see make a comeback! Use the navigation below to peruse the list and be sure to leave us a comment sharing your most-desired FPS comebacks below.

  • Two Signs That Battlefield 4 Might Seriously Have Dinosaurs

    Whether or not you count yourself as a skeptic, rumors have been circulating that Battlefield 4 will include dinosaurs in some capacity. This would be a rather unprecedented move for the franchise, but not entirely out of left field believe it or not.

    Here are two pretty credible rumors that suggest DICE really might be including a dinosaur-mode of sorts in Battlefield 4.

    Battlefield 3 Easter Egg

    In the very last expansion for Battlefield 3, End Game, astute players captured a full on pterodactyl sighting on the DLC map Nebandan Flats. At first glance, this may seem like nothing more than a cheeky bit of trolling on behalf of the people at DICE, but on further analysis, there might be something worth noting here.

    Operation Riverside, another DLC map, featured an easter egg of its own. Players were able to locate a floating spaceship in the skies, a clear homage to Battlefield 2142 - the ambitious futuristic shooter.

    The question remains, now, as to whether DICE is simply trolling us with the pterodactyl sighting or if this, too, is an homage to another Battlefield game.

  • What 1 Million Ark Hunters Are Doing in Defiance

    Trion Worlds announced earlier this week that they have surpassed over 1 million registered accounts for their open-world shooter Defiance. 1 million is a huge number for any game, let alone an ambitious trans-media project like Defiance - merging the worlds of television and gaming.

    So, what are 1 million Ark Hunters actually doing in Defiance? According to Trion Worlds, quite a bit!

    • Hellbugs, the nasty buggers that can turn even the most enjoyable Arkfall event into a bloody battle to the death, aren't doing so well. Players in Defiance have killed 500,000,000 hellbugs to date. This is roughly 16 million hellbugs being killed per day, based on the April 2nd launch date.
    • Defiance boasts a huge open world, and the most popular way to get around is in the ATV. That being said, players have driven 50,000,000 miles throughout the Bay area. 
    • Working together is part of what makes Defiance awesome so it makes sense that 1,000,000 Arkfall events have been triggered since the game launched just one month ago. That is 33,000 Arkfall events per day! That's incredible.

    If you're wondering what you're missing out on in Defiance, make sure you visit DefianceForum.com to catch up on the latest news from the video game and the SyFy original program.

  • Why You Should Play the Fuse Demo Next Week

     

    EA has announced that Insomniac Games' upcoming shooter Fuse will be getting a co-op demo next week, giving players a chance to preview what the game has to offer before the game ships on May 28th.

    So, why should you bother downloading the demo? Here are a few great reasons to give it a shot.

    LEAP Between Characters

    Fuse features a unique cast of four characters to choose from, but with the exciting LEAP mechanic, players can actually jump between players seamlessly. Each character has their own set of abilities and skills, so using LEAP lets players take advantage of all of those skills, allowing players to play every role. The idea here is that there are always four characters pivotal to the game, so if you can't rustle up three friends to play with you, you can still make use of every character.

    "We wanted to make sure that there are always four characters in the game but you can have just as much fun by yourself, or with one friend, two friends, or three friends. So that's been our design mantra from the very beginning," said Insomniac CEO Ted Price.

  • PlanetSide 2's Update 8 Brings Harasser Buggy & More

    Details as well as screenshots and footage of the Harasser buggy have surfaced from Sony Online Entertainment for  MMOFPS PlanetSide 2. New helmets have been added as well, with their own pile of screenshots.

    Gallery: Harasser Buggy & Helmets

    VS MAX Protoss
    VS Max Action
    VS Protoss & Guns
    VS Protoss Front

    The speedy Harasser assault buggy is built for hit-and-run attacks with room for a dedicated driver, rumble seat which can hold any infantry class, and a top-mounted turret. The video above shows the armored vehicle in action!

    What else is making appearance in Update 8? Join us after the jump to find out.

  • 5 Guns We Never Want to See in Call of Duty Again

    Honorable mention: the War Machine from Black Ops II

    With each passing year, Activision releases a new Call of Duty game with a whole arsenal of new weapons. Sometimes the weapons are brand new to the game but there are more than a few guns that have become staples in the franchise. The M1911 pistols is in nearly every single Call of Duty game and the M16 assault rifle has turned up several times.

    Those staples are great, and return to the series time and time again because they offer something special.

    These are not those guns. These are the opposite of those guns. Guns that we never want to see in a Call of Duty game ever again. Ever.

    Please.

  • Call of Duty: Ghosts Confirmed for November 5th, Available for Pre-Order

    The next generation of Call of Duty has been announced, confirming the rampant rumors that have been afoot since last week's retail display leak. Ghosts will take place in the future, using a mix of current technology and weapons to fit with an entirely new story, setting, and cast of characters. 

    A brand new engine is the cherry on top of this delicious, bullet-ridden sundae, one that Activision claims will redefine the series for the next generation.

    "Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation, and they're going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new characters, an all-new Call of Duty world, all powered by a next generation Call of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise. Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world's greatest fans."

     Infinity Ward had more to say on their development choices for the next in the legendary series:

    "Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do. But we're not resting on our laurels," said Mark Rubin, executive producer of developer Infinity Ward. "We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we're building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can't wait to share them with our community."

     A first-look debut will be taking place on May 21st; those interested can tune in to Xbox: the Next Generation Revealed on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE or SPIKE TV.

    The game is slated to launch November 5th, and eager fans can already pre-order for Xbox 360, PS3, next-gen consoles, and PC for $59.99.

    Stay tuned right here for more details on Ghosts; we'll be eagerly following development news just for you.

  • See Yourself on the Defiance Show!

    Trion Worlds and Syfy have announced a contest to further merge the two worlds of Defiance! You already see Nolan and Irisa crossing from the game to the show, and now players have the chance to follow them over. A competition will be held in-game from April 30th - May 12th to see who deserves to see themselves in an upcoming episode of Defiance:

    The ark hunter earning the most ark salvage per hour (excluding ark salvage earned from the Salvage Matrix) during their time played over the course of the contest will win. Only players who register for the contest and complete both “Most Wanted” pursuits will be eligible to win. All registrants must complete both the “Most Wanted: Competitor” and “Most Wanted: Rogue’s Gallery” in-game pursuits between 12:00am PDT April 30 and 11:59pm PDT May 12.

    Both pursuits will be in-game in the “Goals” section of the GO menu starting at 12:00am PDT April 30. The “Rogue’s Gallery” pursuit tasks you with eliminating various mutants, raiders, 99ers, and more, while the “Competitor” pursuit pits you against other ark hunters in team-based PvP and Shadow War modes. The winner will have artists from the Defiance series render their character’s likeness into a special place in an upcoming episode.

    Contest registration can be found at www.defiance.com/most-wanted, so don't miss out on your chance to become immortalized on Syfy. Future contests are promised to further connect the two media worlds -- stay tuned here and to the Defiance Forums for more information.

    This massively mulltiplayer online shooter and television series go hand-in-hand in an unprecedented partnership featuring an interconnected world and crossing storylines!  The Syfy series is in full swing, with viewers to follow the immersive drama each week as they adventure in the game. Check out this preview of next week's episode, to air Monday at 9/8c:

    Need information to get off on the right foot in-game? The Defiance Wiki has a full knowledge base to fill your noggin with, and our Defiance Hub combined with the Defiance Forums will keep you up to date with news and community banter. Stick with us, Ark Hunters -- we're in it for the long haul.

    Have you been playing and following along? Let us know what you think in the comments below!