One of the FPS genre’s most storied names is about to be dragged out of retirement, with Bethesda Softworks this week announcing that Wolfenstein: The New Order is on its way to systems old and new.

While Bethesda does own id Software (the studio most closely associated with the franchise) it has assigned development duties to Swedish team MachineGames. Though id will be taking a back seat during development, it will still be contributing its proprietary id Tech 5 engine to the project.

Wolfenstein: The New Order will apparently take place in an alternate timeline, one in which the Axis triumphed over the Allies during World War II. They then expanded to dominate the planet by the 1960s.

As returning hero B.J. Blazkowicz you’ll face off against hordes of robotic killing machines that look quite a bit like cylons. If Bethesda was hoping to avoid the comparison, it probably shouldn’t have used a song so closely associated with Battlestar Galactica in the game’s debut trailer.  As reported by GameSpot, Wolfenstein: The New Order will be a single player only affair.

Look for this one to arrive on 360, PS3, PC and “next gen consoles” towards the end of 2013.

Just another day at Ubisoft HQ.

Ubisoft has fired the man responsible for the first two Assassin’s Creed blockbusters. As reported by Game Informer, the publisher has confirmed that Ubisoft Montreal creative director Patrice Désilets is no longer with the company. This isn’t the first time the two have parted ways. Désilets resigned in 2010 to take up a position with THQ Montreal. Ironically, THQ was then forced to sell the business to Ubisoft, bringing Désilets back into the fold.

According to an Ubisoft statement, the creative director “left” his position after “good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions” proved “inconclusive”.

Désilets’ account of the process, published by Polygon, differed somewhat from the official line. “I was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice and was unceremoniously walked out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings.” Désilets vowed to “fight for my rights, for my team and for my game”. As noted by Kotaku, Désilets later confirmed that producer Jean-Francois Boivin has also been shown the door.

At the time of its sale to Ubisoft, the studio was said to be working on unannounced properties Underdog and 1666. The future of these projects is now in question.

Available on PC l Published and Developed by Klei Entertainment l Unclassified l Supports 1 player

REVIEW IN BRIEF > Don’t Starve is an interesting experiment and it certainly has a lot to offer. The unique crafting based gameplay may be easy to understand but it also offers a surprising amount of depth. The cartoony world is pleasant to traverse and the creature design is inspired. All these positives do wear off though when you realise that the game (as it currently stands) doesn’t really have a point and there is little to keep you coming back for more. Read the rest of this entry »

Available on 360, PS3 and PC l Published and developed by Trion Worlds l Classified MA15+ l Massively Multiplayer

REVIEW IN BRIEF > Defiance has generated a lot of hype. Arguably it is the first “true” experiment in transmedia. The game (developed by Trion Worlds) and the TV series (produced by the SyFy channel) have been collaboratively developed from the very beginning, and there are even suggestions that developments in the game world will crop up in future seasons of the show. Unfortunately, the game itself is less than spectacular. Although it suffers from a general lack of polish, the things it does do well (especially the MMO elements) are pretty compelling. Read the rest of this entry »