Today, more evidence has surfaced suggesting that Warren Spector’s (the Deus Ex and Thief creator) current project is titled Epic Mickey, as well as what may be concept art for the in-development game. A Superannuation post flaunted some beautiful concepts on the website of artist Fred Gambino. The shots depict a post apocalyptic, Steampunk-esque Magic Kingdom (to be honest last time I went to the Magic Kingdom it could have done with a fresh lick of paint). Pictures show the Mickey Mouse ears atop a gigantic, crumbling paddle-steamer, the spires of the Magic Kingdom castle perched atop a twisted tower of rock, and a semi-mechanical “Zombie Goofy”.

In an archived Edge interview from E3 2006 – before the Disney acquisition – Spector said: “I want to do a cartoon game really bad – well, really good. People don’t realize that I did my Masters thesis on Warner Brothers cartoons, you know – I used to teach animation classes, I’ve been a Disney stockholder since I was 19. I’m a cartoon freak; I’ve met a bunch of the old WB directors, and did Toon, the cartoon [pen-and-paper] RPG… And I’ve been trying to get somebody to let me do a cartoon game for the entire time I’ve been in the videogame business.” It seems Epic Mickey will, at first, be coming to the Wii.

1C and Battlefront.com have announced a new expansion pack for Theatre of War 2. The game is a tactical WW2 strategy title based in 1943 and centres on the North African Campaign, and is intended to be the most realistic simulation of modern warfare on the PC. The expansion pack will be available later this year via download and/or mail delivery for $25.00 at www.battlefront.com. Ownership of the original Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 is required.

This new expansion pack is dedicated to the Italian 131st Armored Division Centauro and the battles it took part in North Africa. The pack features a new campaign and covers missions from rearguard actions near El Ageyla in Libya to the battles in Tunisia. There will be new maps and ten new missions based on real battles in Tunisia allowing players to command counterattacks, breakthroughs, and ambushes. Ten new military vehicles will also make their debut, including the Semovente M40 tank destroyer, the Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank, and the Autoblinda AB 40 armored car. I understand that the Gelato armoured ice-cream van didn’t make its first appearance until 1944 and so won’t be featured.

No, I am not talking about the neural capability of George Bush Junior, I am referring to the report that two more games in EA’s Dead Space series are being planned. The Variety article also refers to a movie adaption of the game. It suggested that a director has been found – D.J. Caruso of Eagle Eye fame, and that Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey (doing the Gears of War movie) will have producer roles. Dead Space, is set in the 26th century in deep space, where an engineer responding to a distress signal from a stranded mining ship finds himself up against some unexpected company. Much mayhem, running about and gun based dissection follows. Lesson learned: Don’t respond to distress signals in the 26th Century!

Valve has revealed more of the new features for Left 4 Dead 2. These include a ‘Swamp Fever’ campaign, a further boss type, more weapons, and different infected types. It is understood that Mudmen (crawling on all fours) are the unique infected for the Swamp map while the HazMat suited (fire-resistant) infected are unique to the New Orleans map, and it is rumored that there could be up to four bosses in the final version of the sequel. New weapons include a grenade launcher, AK47s, a cricket bat, a frying pan, axe, scoped rifle, silenced sub-machine gun, and incendiary ammo. I submitted the ‘rolled wet towel’ as a suggested new weapon, but it seems that Valve hasn’t picked up my idea. Pity, as I seem to remember dispatching many a foe with such a weapon in my school days.

There is a slight twist. It’s WW2, Paris is under German occupation and you’ll have to talk with an Irish accent! What? Ok let me explain. Saboteur is the new World War 2 based action title from Pandemic. Any similarity to Call of Duty, however, ends there. For in Saboteur, rather than playing as a soldier you assume the role of a civilian out for revenge. Surprisingly, though its set in France, the character is called Sean and, yes, you’ve guessed it, he’s Irish (it makes no sense to me either)! Another big difference is in the graphics. Saboteur takes full advantage of a stylized black and white color scheme. Your job is to roam around Paris and the surrounding countryside and cause mayhem and confusion for the occupying Germans (presumably when they start to wonder what a vigilante Irish man is doing in Paris). Here the game’s color scheme adds another in-game twist. If you can take out Germans in parts of the city that are displayed in black and white, you’ll restore color to the city and the residents will be happy. Neat trick. A release date of December 8th has been set for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC owners.

So I just spent the weekend delving into the Xbox 360 1943 Pacific download. Laugh? My neighbours, concerned at the noises emanating from my house, nearly called emergency services twice. Somehow I don’t think Activision had the game down as a straight comedy. I must admit, it’s not a straight comedy—I found it veering from hilarity to extreme frustration in a matter of minutes.

Overall, the comedy seemed to eradicate the in-game frustrations, which was quite handy. I fired my Thompson SMG point blank into the back of an enemy soldier (who thought he was successfully hidden in a copse of trees)—I know, sneaky of me—but he turned around and offed me with a samurai sword, which was a tad annoying. Minutes later I was roaring with laughter as another enemy soldier tried to spike me with a bayonet, but I dodged sideways and watched as he continued forward over the cliff behind me, never to be seen again. Then there was the time another enemy and I ran into the same small shack at the same time to chuck grenades at one another. Somehow we both survived; the building didn’t. The funniest for me, though, was the enemy who obviously thought he was a reincarnated “Mad Max,” ripping through roads in his jeep, squashing all who dared stray into his path. He tried the same with me, but he failed to spot the destroyed bridge section in the road directly behind me. I can still hear his yell of victory turn into a wail of despair as he and his vehicle plunged into the surf below.

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It was to the sounds of much gamer wailing, weeping and teeth gnashing that Take Two recently announced that BioShock 2 will miss its Fall ‘09 release. Take Two chairman, Strauss Zelnick, said the company “concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product. We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace.” The game sequel is now not expected until sometime in the first half of 2010, leaving many gamers left to fill a vast time void. Take Two CEO, Ben Feder, added that they “felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve.” Black arm bands will be worn in the meantime to denote our silent suffering.

Mothership Zeta, the latest in a chain of downloadable content for Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic epic Fallout 3, has been given a release date and pricing. In this download the Lone Wanderer (not that alone really or we would have a more Myst-like game) is abducted by the Galactic Wanderers (no not a basketball team from Harlem – but Aliens in this case) and taken on board their spaceship. Obviously this invites you to escape, and as you wander through the alien mothership, you will find two new weapons, the “Alien Atomizer” and the “Drone Cannon”. As usual, you’ll also be able to ally yourself with new NPCs while you make your bid to escape. Be prepared to be beamed up on August 3rd which will set you back 800 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360. Maybe pack a video camera too – as when you get back to earth odds are that no-one will believe your story!

With EA’s FIFA 9 footie (sorry ‘soccer’) game still just behind the number one selling game (Wii Fit) – you might have thought the soccer gamer had been catered for. Not so, it would seem. EA will soon be releasing FIFA 10 and if that wasn’t enough to make the keenest soccer fan dribble with delight – Konami will also be releasing Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 soon. FIFA 10 will be available internationally on October 2 and will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, PlayStation 2, DS, and PSP. EA claims to have reviewed 275 million online games played in FIFA 09 in an effort to improve the new game. One improvement will be a new 360-degree dribbling system which even old David ‘golden balls’ Beckham would be proud of. It would seem Konami is still playing in a different league. Orange segments at half-time anyone?

I just wanted to say ‘hello’ from the little island state called Britain. I have been invited to contribute to Avault and am excited at the prospect. I have been providing the odd news announcement over the pass few months. While I am typing this I have half an eye on 1943 which is downloading from Xbox Live – thought I might give it a go this afternoon. In fact for maximum effect I am going to combine four shots of expresso with my first few 1943 missions…apologies if I join one of your games – I’ll be the one running about like a headless chicken shooting at my own shadow…if I am on your team then I might prove a distraction to the enemy and if I am on the opposing team then I will provide an erratic target! Anyway, my aim on this site is to continue contributing to the news for Avault and also to involve you all in some interesting (hopefully) discussion and research…ok enough speak…off to the coffee altar…

Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: October 14, 1997

Only every once in a while does a title that truly wraps a player into a story without all the graphical glitz and glamor arrive on the gaming scene. Last year, Circle of Blood came close to giving gamers a true adventure that combined a good graphics engine with a relatively deep storyline. This year in response to the first title, Circle of Blood, Virgin Interactive is releasing a sequel under the name Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror. Broken Sword builds on the main character base from the original, but takes the adventure to new levels of sophistication. ( read more… )