Guitar Heroes of Warcraft?
In a juicy bit of always-thrilling, business-type news, Vivendi Universal, owners of Blizzard and the World of Warcraft properties, and Activision, proprietors of Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and (for old-school Atari fans) Pitfall, have decided to get into a money-lined bed together and create an entirely new mega-company called…Activision Blizzard.
Awful name. But what does the whole thing mean for the average gamer? Not a whole lot. No Night Elves in Guitar Hero. No Rolling Stones songs in WoW. Wait, that might be awesome….
At any rate, the move seems to have affected the whole industry positively, as shares of almost every other big company have risen in anticipation of other such mergers, from Grand Theft Auto makers Take-Two Interactive to Ubisoft, the French force behind Assassin’s Creed, which has been rumored to become part of EA for some time now. Even long-suffering Atari has seen its shares rise almost 8% as investors look for the company to get absorbed (read: saved from a miserable demise) in a similar move.
Yay, money!
Ghostbusters to Cross Streams Again
Last January, some footage of what appeared to be a new Ghostbusters game appeared online. And it was, quite simply, awesome. It seemed the game was a sure thing but Zoot Fly, the company behind the video, said it was simply a demo and that they had not acquired the rights to the Ghostbusters property from Columbia Pictures. After a few months of trying, it appeared they couldn’t make it happen and the game seemed dead. At least, their version did.
Fast-forward to now, and the internet is abuzz with the advent of another Ghostbusters game from Sierra–a real one. This one not only has the blessing of Columbia Pictures, but it was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, and has the voice talent/likenesses of both men, along with Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray!
The game is scheduled for release in fall 2008, and each version–for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, and DS–will be somewhat different than the other. The 360 and PS3 games will be more realistic, solo adventures, and the Wii, PS2, and DS games will be a bit more cartoony, focusing on multiplayer.
William Atherton (Walter Peck), Brian Doyle Murray (the boy’s psychiatrist), and Annie Potts (Janine) have all signed on as well. No word on Rick Moranis, though Sigourney Weaver is confirmed to not be in the game.
While a script for a third Ghostbusters film–in which the team goes to Hell (seriously)–has been rumored for years, Dan Aykroyd has confirmed that the games will have nothing to do with that storyline. However, he stated that the game is essentially Ghostbusters III and plays out like a direct sequel to the first two movies.
A Holiday Gift from BioShock
This week 2K is giving BioShock owners a little incentive to give the game another go (which we fully intend on doing) by offering some brand-new content. Nothing too wild here, but a few things may add some spice to the child-killing (or saving, if you’re boring) antics of one of the year’s most popular games.
Here’s what you’re looking at:
– Sonic Boom: Hurls objects and foes with a blast of force
– EVE Saver: Plasmids use less EVE
– Vending Expert: Reduces prices at the vending machines
– Machine Buster: Increases the damage you deal to machines
– A new Xbox 360-only 100 pt. achievement called Brass Balls if you beat the game on ‘hard’ without dying
– A new and improved widescreen option
Nice.
