Or how to build unsurmountable hype. Did the Killzone 2 drama teach publishers/developers anything?

These six “target development renders” are from Codemasters upcoming tactical shooter, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising. They’re not in-game, but Codemasters thought it’d be a great idea to show what they’re aiming for. Alright, I can understand that, but why release something that you may not be able to achieve? Especially on the Xbox 360 and PS3. PC? Maybe.

Well, here are the renders anyways, just treat them like high quality concept art.

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Idiotic comparisons over GRiD by GameTrailers have resulted in flames and accusations of bias on the part of GameTrailers. Was it a simple mistake or a case of an overzealous video editor? The creator of this YouTube video claims bias.

I had no idea this has become such a big deal. At first, I just thought it was a simple mistake. Who knows. Who cares?

Game movies rarely work. I don’t know why Hollywood bothers bringing interactive experiences into the passive medium. I just don’t know.

The latest “victim” of this risky conversion is BioShock which will turn last year’s awesome game into a feature film with Gore Verbinski at the helm. Universal Studios is funding the project. I’m curious how it’ll turn out, but I don’t have high hopes. Uncharted, another 2007 game, is rumored to be optioned for movie adaptation. I’m more optimistic for this game-to-movie conversion since it was heavily influenced by movies like Indiana Jones already; it’s just coming full circle back to film.

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Along with the Haze U.S. demo, which I talked about earlier already, this week’s U.S. PSN update boasted another demo of interest. No, I’m not talking about The Bourne Conspiracy demo. I’m talking about the demo for Codemaster’s GRID. It’s their new racing franchise. I went into this demo under the false pretense of expecting a non-rally version of DIRT. How wrong I was. It’s not DIRT. It’s not even Project Gotham Racing. It’s some sort of bastardization between Ridge Racer and Forza.

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It was quite shocking to hear that Sega decided to close their Sega Racing Studios. I understood the financial reasons, but it was still a damn shame to see such talented developers be shutdown. Their most recent work was Sega Rally Revo which is a solid arcade rally racer. Fortunately, GRiD, Dirt and Colin McRae developer, Codemasters were kind/wise enough to snap up these guys. A happy ending.

Not so happy news comes with reports of several big wigs leaving Retro Studios. Retro Studios brought the Metroid franchise, not only into the 3-D world, but into first person view as well. Most importantly, it was a successful transition. Hopefully, they will continue to flourish without those key folks.