Monday News Roundup
EA to co-publish Dead to Rights II, N-Gage games reduced, 50 Cent game will be at E3, Doom movie "wrapped".
Electronic Arts has revealed that it will co-publish Dead to Rights II in much the same way it delivered the original US-developed Namco title to European store shelves. The PS2, Xbox and PC title is due out in summer 2005 - so you could argue that it's not "much the same way", since there was a Cube version of DTR1 and Hip Interactive handled the PC version rather than EA, but you know. DTRII will carry on with the same sort of gritty noir third-person action antics in the fictional Grant City's underground, as edgy cop Jack Slate and his dog Shadow are once again entangled in a web of crime, corruption and betrayal.
Nokia has announced that it plans to cut the price of various N-Gage titles to try and boost support for the phone-cum-handheld, which has been flagging like an Xbox in Tokyo ever since it launched. According to Nokia, games in the existing catalogue will be offered at starting prices of £15 through to £25, and new games - including X-Men Legends and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - will also come in at £25.
Vivendi-Universal Games has confirmed what MTV told us last week - that it will be releasing a game based on US rapper 50 Cent called, appropriately enough given the artist's brushes with lead in the past, 50 Cent: Bulletproof. The will be unveiled at E3 in Los Angeles in mid-May, but that's about the only thing we didn't already know. The press release says there's more information on the game's official website. But, er, there isn't.
The Doom movie appears to be nearing the end of its tortured road to the big screen, with The Rock telling an American TV show (actually, let's be specific: telling the hugely enjoyable Daily Show With Jon Stewart) that "We just wrapped it". Nobody's entirely sure who it is that The Rock's playing yet (he's credited just as "Sarge", and Karl Urban is thought to be the main star, John Grimm) but there's lots of speculation doing the rounds. If you'd rather find out what sorts of twists are in the tale, we suggest waiting to see it on the silver screen. As for when that is - apparently August. And yes, it's got the BFG in it.