Rare prepping Live Arcade title

Rare, the developer of Viva Pinata, is currently at work on a game for Xbox 360's Live Arcade service. A team of less than 10 people from the studio are bringing their expertise together to create a game that will be evocative of Rare's personality, according to senior engineer Nick Burton.

Speaking to Edge magazine, Burton revealed that the game will be released onto the Arcade service this year. "It feels like a Rare game," he said, "I don't know what that means exactly, but it just does." Does that indicate a return to past glories (ie Donkey Kong or Goldeneye)? Well, probably not, since Nintendois obviously the protector of the DK estate, while anyone earnestly wishing for a Goldeneye remake ought to be put out of their misery at the first opportunity.

Our idea of a game that "feels"like a Rare game would have to feature three things - attention to the fine details, strong personality and snappy, instantly enjoyable action. Rareis unwilling to reveal any further details on the project, but we hope to hear more very soon.

February 6, 2007

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.