It is the end of the week so Train2Game news is bringing you a round up of games industry news.
Saint Row IV has got an official release date and teaser trailer today which was announced by the IP’s new owners, Deep Silver. What was originally imagined as a standalone expansion for Saints Row: The Third called “Enter the Dominatrix” became the basis for Saints Row IV after being re-purposed last year. “Enter the Dominatrix” featured the leader of the Saints being captured by an alien warlord and forced into a virtual reality simulation of Steelport. The game is being released on August 23 of this year. You can enjoy the suitably crazy trailer in the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ax5lfDVjF3w
The co-designer of the cult classic game Road Rash, Dan Geisler, has said that EA can’t do a decent remake of the hit bike racing title. He deduced that if they could have done it, they would have already. He voiced his opinions whilst taking part in an AMA on Reddit. When asked if a Road Rash game was possible for the mobile platforms. Dan replied “Absolutely! I would consider it a must.” So how likely is a new Road Rash? Dan said “As for Road Rash getting remade, a rose by any other name still can prick the shit out of your finger. I’m liking the chances of something really cool happening.” It sounds like a new Road Rash could be developed by the veteran but under a new name on mobile platforms.
A Crytek-authorised TimeSplitters game is in development for PC, built using the publisher’s sparkly CryEngine 3. TimeSplitters Rewind is being worked on by a team of fans – including members of the original TimeSplitters staff at Free Radical Design. Rewind will include multiplayer modes and challenges taken from the original three games, re-packaged in HD. Online play for 8-16 players and bots are in, project manager Michael Hubicka told Cooking with Grenades. But split-screen is out – CryEngine 3 simply does not support it at the moment. A demo is planned for December.
A new Warhammer 40k title is being developed by Slitherine. Slitherine are the publishers of tricky tactical strategy Unity of Command. Much of the details of the deal are being kept under wraps. All we know for sure is it’ll be a turn-based strategy, and that it’s being developed for multiple, as yet unnamed, platforms. Given Slitherine’s back-catalogue, this could mean the most faithful adaptation of tabletop Warhammer to date.
Finally, a new Pokémon game, Pokémon Rumble U, has been confirmed as a downloadable title that will feature all 649 pocket monsters battling it out, probably in a similar fashion to the last two games. As many gamers speculated when the Wii U’s NFC tech was first announced, you’ll be able to purchase Pokémon figurines, then place them on the NFC pad and have them appear in the game. It’s similar to how the popular Skylanders series works, except you won’t need a special accessory to link your figures with the game. You’ll also be able to level up your characters and record battle information on the toys themselves. Pokémon Rumble U is coming to Japan’s Wii U eShop on April 24. No news yet on North American or European release dates or pricing, but given the popularity of the Pokémon franchise, it will almost assuredly be heading our way soon.