Games Industry reports: Ninja Theory's Tameem Antoniades has said he believes that his company could have produced a movie like Beowulf for the fraction of the cost by using a game engine - in fact, around a fifth of the estimated film's USD 150 million budget. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Antoniades talked of plans to move his company into movie and TV production - which would run alongside its games business. We see an entirely different area of progress: a form of independent production based on real-time game engine technology. We reckon you could do something like Beowulf for 15-20 per cent of the cost, Antoniades explained. If you are already creating hi-res assets for a game, then sharing these can bring that cost down even further... We have a lot of experience in performance capture, animation, rendering and so on. We can compete in the same way that indie films can live alongside blockbusters.
Game Informer have just sent out their newest edition to American stores nationwide and this months' review scores can be found below. Super Mario Galaxy receives the game of the month award, while Rock Band also impresses. Time Crisis 4, Soul Caliber: Legends and Jenga were this months' worst games. Rock Band (PS3/Xbox 360/PS2, EA): 9,25 / 9,25 F.E.A.R. Files (Xbox 360, Sierra): 6,5 / 7 Beowulf (PS3/Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 5,75 / 5 Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3/Xbox 360, Eidos): 7 / 7,25 Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command (NDS, THQ): 8 / 8,5 MX vs. ATV Untamed (Xbox 360/PS3, THQ): 8 / 8,25 Scene It? (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 8,5 / 7 Viva Pinata: Party Animals (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 5,5 Bee Movie (Xbox 360/PS2/Wii/NDS, Activision): 6,5 Time Crisis 4 (PS3, Namco Bandai): 4,25 / 4,5 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo): 9,75 / 9,75 **Game of the Month** Smarty Pants (Wii, EA): 7,5 / 6 Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii, Ubisoft): 7,75 / 8 Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii, Capcom): 8,25 / 8 Soul Calibur Legends (Wii, Namco Bandai): 4 / 4 Ghost Squad (Wii, Sega): 7 / 6,5 Battalion Wars 2 (Wii, Nintendo): 7,25 / 7,25 Endless Ocean (Wii, Nintendo): 6 Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii, Atlus): 7,5 Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (Wii, EA): 6,75 Dancing With the Stars (Wii/PS2, Actgivision): 5,25 Jenga (Wii, Atari): 2
Xbox 360 Only has just posted the reviews and rumors from the latest edition of the US Official Xbox Magazine. This months' reviews include Assassin's Creed, Beowulf, Scene It?, Soldier of Fortune, Blacksite and Gripshift. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 8.5/10 Scene it? (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 8/10 Soldier of Fortune Payback (Xbox 360, Activision): 4.5/10 Golden Compass (Xbox 360, Sega): 6/10 MX vs. ATV Untamed (Xbox 360, THQ): 5/10 Beowulf (Xbox 360, Ubisoft): 6/10 GripShift (Xbox 360, Microsoft): 5.5/10 N+ (Xbox 360, Metanet/Slick): 7/10 Screwjumper! (Xbox 360, THQ): 7/10 NCAA 08 March Madness (Xbox 360, EA): 7/10 College Hoops 2K8 (Xbox 360, 2K Sports): 8.5/10 Blacksite Area 51 (Xbox 360, Midway): 6/10 The US OXM also features a rumor section, this month with three very interesting rumors. - Bethesda's (Elder Scrolls: Oblivion) online debut will be a launch title for the next Xbox. - The new Ghost Recon game is still a few years away. The game will not go further on in the Advanced Warfighter part, and the game also doesn't take place in cities anymore. - Ubisoft is planning some radical changes for the new Sam Fischer game.
Beowulf the movie is certainly not a budget title. It uses the latest technology to create a 3d CG experience like never before, and employs actors at the top of their game - who surely cost a bomb. The budget must be huge. Budget for the game? Hmm¿well it could still be quite significant, but with this news they can't have put that much cash into at all.
Nintendo, which has been historically criticised for not providing enough software for its platforms, emerges as the clear winner this week ¿ at least in terms of quantity. Specficially, American gamers get to choose between eight DS titles over the next five days, including the likes of Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 and Pocket Pets. Also, a quintet of Wii releases are available through Friday, which includes the towering arrival of Godzilla Unleashed and Myth Makers: Super Kart GP.
As the new blockbuster movie Beowulf from Paramount Pictures debuts in cinemas worldwide and the official game of the movie becomes available, work on the independently developed game of same name has been suspended. The game had been under development at German game developer 4HEAD Studios in collaboration with graphics and animation studio 3D-IO. Paramount Pictures has obtained the rights to the project's core properties including trademarks, Internet domains, and other assets.
The Beowulf video game takes players deep into groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis' vision of the classic saga, Beowulf. Gamers live the life of Beowulf, the legendary Norse warrior with the strength of 30 men who is torn between the nobility and brutality within him. Arrogant, self-serving and lustful for gold and glory, Beowulf will journey to Denmark to destroy a bloodthirsty beast wreaking havoc on a frigid land. But evil persists, and Beowulf succumbs to its lure of even greater fame, quietly maneuvering to claim the Danish throne.' - TeamXbox
The game will feature 31 achievements worth 1000 points.
Ubisoft has enlisted the help of film stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Ray Winstone for the upcoming Beowulf game based on the movie. This marks the first time that Hopkins and Winstone will work on a game. Other talent from the movie have signed up for the game as well.
Ubisoft just sent out its newest release schedule for Europe. No real surprises as Naruto is still listed for release on November 1 exclusively on Xbox 360 and Assassin's Creed is still listed for November on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Beowulf however has received an exact release date on all platforms. Beowulf will launch first on Xbox 360 and PC on November 8, followed three weeks later on Playstation 3 and PSP on November 29. A reason for this short delay was not given. Blazing Angels 2 for Playstation 3 has also been pushed back from late October to a November 22 release.
GamesRadar is the premiere source for everything that matters in the world of video games. Casual or core, console or handheld - whatever systems you own or whatever genres you love, GamesRadar is there to filter out what's worth your time and to help you get even more from your games. We deliver the best advice, the most in-depth features, expert reviews, and the essential guides for all the top games.
