Week of December 25, 2005

Seriously! Forums translated a piece of an interview from a game magazine:

"First we have to finish the patches (DM, SDK, linux port etc. - as they mentioned in another part of the interview, G.), then adapt SS 2 for other platforms, and then start working on SS 3 (!!!, G.)... Of course, you never know what the publisher may want, so something may happen in between. We are also planning a completely new project, a game which will be completely different from SS, with a bigger accent on MP in co-op... It should be a lot less "cartoony" and much more serious than Sam. But don't worry, it won't be too serious - can you even imagine the two of us making a really serious game (Alen and Vedran, G.)?!"

Note: All of the information here is subject to change depending on various things, like Croteam's/publisher's plans, the position of the moon and stars and a whole bunch of other things we can't influence... There is also the posibility of me mistranslating something, so take this info with a bit of salt. If something isn't correct, I apologize, and please correct me.

I don't know about the rest of you but I want them to work on that co-op game rather than Serious Sam 3. We will be watching Croteam for more info.

Game Factory Interactive sends word that the demo for ALFA: Antiterror is out, along with 6 new screenshots. You can grab the demo and see the new screenshots by clicking the images below.

Got Game Entertainment has released 8 new screnshots of their point-and-click horror puzzle game Scratches. The game is due out on the PC in March.

In November, a judge ruled a Michigan law banning the sale of mature-rated games to minors as unconstitutional, preventing it from going into effect. Three weeks ago, a similar fate befell an Illinois measure that would have placed similar restrictions on games.

Late yesterday, a California judge issued a ruling that prevented that state's own game-restriction law from going into effect. In the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge Ronald Whyte slapped a preliminary injunction on a law signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, himself the star of several games, last month.

In his ruling, Judge Whyte wrote that "games are protected by the First Amendment"--worthy of the same protection of free expression as books, films, television, or the press. He granted the preliminary injunction on the grounds that the terms of the law, which would include mandatory labeling of games deemed unsuitable for minors, would "likely" be ruled unconstitutional. The law was slated to go into effect on January 1, 2006.

The motion for the injunction was requested by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) game-industry lobby and Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), a game-retailer trade association.

"We are extremely pleased by today's announcement," said ESA President Doug Lowenstein. "For the sixth time in five years, federal courts have now blocked or struck down these state and local laws seeking to regulate the sale of games to minors based on their content, and none have upheld such statutes."

Hal Halpin, president of the IEMA, was a bit sterner in his response. "Our position has been, and shall remain, that government should not be involving itself in the entertainment decisions that consumers make," he said in his own statement. "It is unfortunate that politicians have chosen not to respect the will of the courts and of the people, and it is our continued hope that they will now, given the extraordinary amount of precedent, choose to instead work proactively with us."

As of press time, neither Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), author of the California law, nor Governor Schwarzenegger had commented on the ruling.

An all-new game and a mysterious bit of "digital content" based on the action series are currently in development at Kojima Productions.

Hideo Kojima may be busy at work on Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PlayStation 3, but he's also prepping other installments in the best-selling series. The latest issue of Famitsu revealed that Konami's famed game designer is working on not just one, but two new Metal Gear Solid projects for the PSP.

The first project is named "Metal Gear Solid BD," which Famitsu reports will be some form of "digital content" slated for a spring 2006 release in Japan. Kojima did not give any details about the project, but the article implied that it may be a form of entertainment other than a game.

The second MGS PSP project will be a "totally new Metal Gear Solid game." Kojima avoided disclosing the game's name, saying that it will give away what the game is about. However, he hinted that it plays relatively normal, excluding a new form of gameplay that "is only possible with the PSP."

While he personally thinks that the game will be interesting, Kojima added that the new concept is so "different," he needs to test alpha version to see if the game has a chance at retail. When asked about the game's release period, Kojima would say only that it shouldn't take extremely long to develop.

The second game appears to be the title Kojima previously mentioned on his official blog. In November, he said he was working on a new PSP project with a "completely new system" that is being produced by Metal Gear Acid 2 director Shinta Nojiri.