Today's round-up includes information on Namco's latest PC RTS publishing deal, a new Xbox 360 exclusive from the creator of
Grand Theft Auto, and Hollywood talent providing voice acting for Neversoft's
Gun, as well as the latest product news and today's Gamasutra job postings.
- Namco Hometek, which has made significant strides into the PC game market by signing Flagship Studios'
Hellgate London, has announced another major PC title in development,
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, a real-time strategy game set in Games Workshop's Warhammer world, and set for release in late 2006. The game is being developed by Black Hole Entertainment, a subsidiary of film offshoot Cinergi Interactive, and the creator of Electronic Arts'
Armies Of Exigo. Nobuhiro Kasahara, President and CEO of Namco Hometek Inc, commented of the announcement: "With
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, the emphasis is centered on warring armies and mighty champions and less so on the tedious aspects of base management that can often take away from the epic battles."
- New issues of the U.S. print magazine Game Informer and the Japanese print magazine Famitsu have revealed initial information on
Crackdown, the Microsoft-published Xbox 360 exclusive title being produced by Real Time Worlds, the Scottish developer headed by original
Grand Theft Auto creator and DMA Design co-founder Dave Jones. Real Time Worlds is creating
GTA-style massively multiplayer title
All Points Bulletin for Korean-headquartered firm Webzen. However, Real Time Worlds will deliver
Crackdown, in which you play a superhuman agent battling warring gang factions in a futuristic city, for Microsoft in Spring 2006, ahead of its other title, and more information on this second-wave Xbox 360 title is expected in the near future.
- Activision has announced the full voice acting cast for the forthcoming Neversoft-created Wild West action title
Gun, which is both a key original IP for Activision and one of the most-awaited holiday titles for gamers. According to the company, the voice actors include a cornucopia of character actors, overseen by leading man Thomas Jane as vengeful gunslinger Colton White; Kris Kristofferson as Colton's mountain man father, Ned; Tom Skerritt as Resistance Fighter Clay Allison; Brad Dourif as evil preacher Josiah Reed; Ron Perlman as Mayor Hoodoo Brown of Empire, New Mexico; and Lance Henriksen as the obsessive tyrant Thomas MacGruder.
Gun is scheduled to ship for all major consoles, including the Xbox 360, this holiday season.
- Also updated today: product news including Quazal's announcement of its
Net-Z and Rendez-Vous networking middleware for Xbox 360, and OTEE's
latest upgrade to its Unity game engine, as well as
today's Gamasutra job postings from companies including Blue Fang Games, BottleRocket Entertainment, Electronic Arts Canada, Electronic Arts Tiburon, Epic Games, Multiversal Entertainment, NCsoft, Pandemic Studios, Perception, Rockstar Vancouver, Sucker Punch Productions, and Touchdown Entertainment.
