THQ set to acquire Big Huge Games

Posted by: Dan at 1/15/2008 7:55 AM - Comments (0)

More On: THQ

Another week, another consolidation move by the Big Boys. THQ announced this morning that they will be acquiring Big Huge Games. This will add a leading RPG developer into the THQ fold and bring aboard such titles as Rise of Nations, Alpha Centauri, Civilization II. Of the employees moving to THQ will be Ken Rolston, who worked on the Elder Scrolls and Morrowind titles. Check out the release after the jump for all the details:

Jan 15, 2008 05:30

THQ to Acquire Leading Developer Big Huge Games

- Studio to Drive THQ's Efforts in Multi-Billion Dollar Role-Playing-Game Category -

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 15, 2008 THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced plans to acquire Big Huge Games, a leading development studio focused on the Role-Playing-Game (RPG) genre, a multi-billion dollar market segment.
Big Huge Games was founded in 2000 by four veteran game developers, Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, Dave Inscore and Tim Train, who together have brought strategy gamers such classic hits as Rise of Nations(R), Alpha Centauri(R), and Civilization II(R). Key studio members also include Ken Rolston, a 25-year RPG design veteran whose most recent design accolades include Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion(TM) and Elder Scrolls III; Morrowind(TM).

"The acquisition of Big Huge Games is a big win for THQ as we continue to expand both our internal development capabilities and our portfolio of owned intellectual properties," said Jack Sorensen, executive vice president of worldwide studios, THQ. "The talent at Big Huge Games has an outstanding history of developing top-selling quality games and we look forward to their creation of many exciting new owned franchises for THQ."

"We are extremely excited to become a part of THQ," said Tim Train, president and COO of Big Huge Games. "We believe their passion for games, developer support, and understanding of the creative process is without parallel in the industry. THQ provides an ideal environment to help us develop new, innovative games for both core gamers and mass market."

The studio is currently in development on a previously announced new RPG title for THQ for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC, as well as additional console projects based on their proprietary technology.

The acquisition is expected to close shortly, subject to certain conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Big Huge Games will become a wholly owned subsidiary of THQ and the studio's management and employees will continue with the company. The 100 person studio is located in Timonium, Maryland. Financial terms were not disclosed.

About Big Huge Games

Founded in 2000 by four veteran game developers who together have brought strategy gamers such classic hits as Rise of Nations(R), Alpha Centauri(R), and Civilization II(R), Big Huge Games is a video game studio focused on cutting-edge technology and aimed at mass-market game development. Big Huge Games founders Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, David Inscore and Tim Train continue in the tradition of creating inspired and innovative games for PC and next-generation consoles. Creating games that have received numerous "Game of the Year" awards and accolades, Big Huge Games is headquartered in Timonium, Maryland. For more information about Big Huge Games, please visit http://www.bighugegames.com.

About THQ

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at http://www.thq.com and http://www.thqwireless.com. THQ, THQ Wireless and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.

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E3 2008: Dark Void (Interview and Hands On)

by: Chuck - posted: 7/20/2008 1:50 PM - Comments (0)

One of the games that I wanted to check out going into E3 was Airtight's Dark Void. The early trailers had shown some stomach churning vertical combat and given that Airtight is composed of a lot of people who worked on the Crimson Skies games there was a lot of potential in the game. After talking to Jose Perez III (audio below) I think Dark Void is another game to keep on your radar.

You play Will, your typical everyman who's sucked into the Void while traveling through the Bermuda Triangle. Now you have to find a way to escape and defeat the Watchers, an alien race trying to destroy mankind. The best way to think about the vertical combat is to take the cover based gameplay from Gears of War and turn it 90 degrees upward. Throw in a little acrophobia and now you're talking Dark Void's core gameplay mechanic (which makes sense given that the game is using the Unreal Engine 3). You'll only be climbing up rock surfaces for part of the game as eventually you'll build a fully functional jet pack and that's where the Crimson Skies influences really start to show. With the fully upgraded jetpack you can zoom around levels without any worries or restrictions and the game opens up to accomplish that.

I only got to play the game for about five minutes but zooming around the with the jetpack was a lot of fun as you got to try and take out a series of flying saucers. The real key is that you need to board one of the flying saucers and then use it to take out the others in the area. Once you get close to one of them you press the B button and then that kicks off a small mini-game where you circle around the edge of the saucer trying to work your way in. Thankfully it's not a quicktime event but once you have control you can then zoom around and take down the rest of the aircraft with ease. Controls are very tight and responsive. I will admit that flying in the jetpack is a bit like flying in WarHawk as you have the option of hovering as well as flying forward.

From what I saw the game looks like it's coming along well. I do worry that the vertical combat part of the game is going to take some getting used to as you do have to climb your way along a linear path but I don't think a lot of people will mind it. I guess we'll find out when the game ships. Here's our interview with Jose Perez III that explains more about the backstory of the game and more about the vertical combat gameplay.

Click to play

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E3 2008: Motorstorm:Pacific Rift (Interview and Hands On)

by: Chuck - posted: 7/20/2008 12:52 PM - Comments (0)

The original Motorstorm was one of the better looking titles for the PS3 and did a fairly good job of showing off the strengths and weaknesses of the PS3. You had amazing visuals, interesting SIXAXIS controls, and some really brutal load times. The follow up game looks to build on those strengths and fix a lot of the issues with the first game. In our chat with Paul Hollywood, the creative director on the project and he confirmed that the game will not require a hard drive install to increase speend.

The game is placed on a new imaginary jungle island which provides for some new challenges. You'll now have to deal with foliage and water which can slow down smaller vehicles. Water is important in other ways as it can instantly cool down your engine from boosting which adds a new tactical element to the game.

I did have the chance to go through one quick race in the game against Mr. Hollywood using the game's new split screen mode. The game builds on the amazing visuals of the first as the graphics are just jaw droppingly gorgeous. While Pure comes close I still think Motorstorm: Pacific Rift has a slight edge on them graphics wise. Gameplay is still fast paced and the game retails the multiple paths through a course setup from the first game.

Load times for vehicle selection are now almost non-existant as you now pull up a 2D card with the information about the vehicle rather than the 3D model of the car. This may change by the time the game ships but for me it works. Level load times have also been decreased dramatically and this isn't final code. The racing itself will be familiar to fans of the first game (why ruin what works well). I was able to narrowly defeat Paul but I have a sneaking feeling he let me win. Hopefully I'll be able to get a re-match this fall when the game is released.

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E3 2008: Pure (Hands On)

by: Chuck - posted: 7/20/2008 12:51 PM - Comments (0)

Despite a packed schedule I ended up with about fifteen minutes of free time to spend in the Concourse Hall. After seeing all the videos and screenshots of Disney's Pure I thought I might pop over and see if the game played as well as it looks. While the game look a lot like Sony's Motorstorm games they play concepts are vastly different. Motorstorm is a pure racing game with various vehicle types while Pure is a trick based ATV game.

Pure looks as good in person as it looks in all the trailers we've shown as the racing environments are lush and highly detailed. The heard of the game is the jump trick/system. Before you hit a jump you pull back on the left thumbstick and then push up as you go over which gives you big air. While you are in the air you can pull off tricks with the facebuttons. You start off with just having A button tricks available but as you pull off tricks on the track you earn boost which unlocks the other facebutton tricks. While you're pulling off a trick you can tap the right bumper to put a twist on the move that you are currently pulling off. These moves tend to be a bit more exotic and require more air as they take more time to pull off but that's the risk/reward of using them.

What's impressive about the game is how accessible it is. It took me a few tries to get the controls down but once I did I was knocking out jump and tricks without a problem. The harder tricks are really difficult to pull off but they do result in some spectacular wipe out