Latest news with #Rare
Engadget
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic is laying off over a dozen staff
Playtonic, the creators of Yooka-Laylee , is laying off some of its staff, the developer and publisher announced on social media. The post doesn't mention how many members of Playtonic will be effected, but does credit the layoffs to the company's struggle with "a period of profound change in how games are created and funded." Based on a LinkedIn post shared by Playtonic brand manager Anni Valkama, the layoffs include staff members who worked in production, various art departments, game design, narrative design and UI/UX design. Playtonic only lists around 50 staff members on LinkedIn, but given the studios growth into a publisher and its upcoming release of Yooka-Replaylee , its possible the actual team is a bit larger. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. While Playtonic likely isn't safe from the problems of funding and selling games that other developers have, hiring up for a new project like Yooka-Replaylee and then laying those new hires off before the game is released is a fairly common practice. There's no way to know if that's the case here without more information, but it's worth stating. Yooka-Laylee was pitched as a spiritual sequel to Banjo-Kazooie and other character-focused action-platformers when it debuted on Kickstarter in 2015, perhaps unsurprising given that Playtonic was founded by former developers from Rare, the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and newer hits like Sea of Thieves . In fact, many of the games Playtonic has published under its "Playtonic Friends" publishing label fall in that Rare sweet spot, whether its the cute action-adventure game Lil Gator Game or the difficult platformer Demon Turf .
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
Every Mission: Impossible Video Game, Ever
Slipping subtly past Micro Games of America's 1996 dedicated handheld game based on the series, we next find the spies appearing in video games in 1998, with the Tom Cruise era of Mission: Impossible now underway. And it's on N64 (and a year later, PlayStation). Sometimes known as Mission: Impossible – Expect the Impossible , this console game was intended to be a tie-in with the first of the Cruise-led movies. Except, keen chronologers will note, 1998 was two years after 1996. This was originally supposed to be created by Ocean, a studio famous for its movie-based games. Think RoboCop , Platoon , Total Recall , and Lethal Weapon , all improbably realized as side-scrolling action games. That wasn't the plan this time, however—ambitions were far higher. Mission: Impossible was an attempt to create something in the style of Rare's GoldenEye 007 , and, well, it wasn't going great. After three years in development, and the slow realization that the N64 wasn't powerful enough for their plans, Ocean was bought by Infogrames in 1997, and a whole new team was assigned to the project. Apparently at that time, the game was running at four frames per second . Things were made harder by Viacom, owners of the film rights, refusing to let the game feature too much gun-based violence, and Tom Cruise refusing to allow his face to be in games The new team wound up crunching for months. Yet, despite all this, it went on to sell over a million copies, even though its reviews weren't exactly great. A late '90s IGN went as low as a 6.6, which was about as a low a score as the site back then would give. READ SOURCE
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Darjeeling Zoo welcomes cubs two of rare and vulnerable snow leopard
Two snow leopard cubs were born at the Darjeeling Zoo, or Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP), last month, officials said. The zoo, which houses seven female and four male snow leopards, in addition to the two cubs, holds the distinction of having the largest captive population of the species in the world, the officials said. The cubs were born to Rare (female) and Namka (male) about a month ago. They are currently housed at Togbey Danra, an off-display conservation breeding centre located around 20 km from Darjeeling town. 'The cubs are a month old. We are taking special care of them,' said Basavraj S Holeyachi, director of PNHZP, speaking to The Indian Express over the phone. 'We might ask Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to name the two cubs,' said Birbaha Hansda, state forest minister. The births mark another success for the zoo's 'Conservation Breeding Programme' for snow leopards. The programme began in 1985, with the first successful birth recorded in 1987. In 2007, PNHZP was designated the coordinating zoo for snow leopards in India. According to authorities, a key element of the programme's success has been maintaining a wide genetic pool in breeding pairs. 'If those paired are closely related, there is a chance of developing disease. We were careful to use a wide genetic pool. Snow leopards brought to the zoo were not only from different parts of the country but also from zoos outside India,' said an official. The Conservation Breeding Centre (CBC) at Togbey Danra spans five hectares. It is designed to replicate the natural environment of the snow leopard, and breeding pairs are carefully selected. 'Five naturalistic enclosures of 1,000 square metres are there. A dry mountainous region has been artificially created within the enclosures, closely resembling the snow leopard's natural habitat,' said an official. 'Once the female leopard is pregnant, special care is taken. She is separated and kept under CCTV surveillance 24/7. Regular blood tests and body weight measurements are conducted. After birth, both mother and cub are checked and closely monitored,' the official added. Snow leopards bred at the Darjeeling Zoo have been sent to zoos in Nainital, Shimla, and Sikkim. Snow leopards are listed as 'vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with an estimated global population of 4,000 to 7,500. Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting. Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More
Tom's Guide
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Switch 2 is finally getting GameCube games — here's the 7 I hope get added next
Nintendo Switch 2 is launching with a long-awaited feature: Nintendo GameCube games are finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online! The GameCube was one of my very first consoles growing up, and that's meant I've always had a bit of a soft spot for that purple cube. Naturally, I've been looking forward to digging a little deeper into the system's library ever since the announcement happened during the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct. Now that we're just a couple of weeks out from the new console's launch and we already have an initial list of confirmed GameCube titles, it seems as good a time as any to share a list of titles that I'd most like to see come to Switch 2 on the Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Classics app. When Nintendo revealed GameCube titles were coming in April's big Switch 2 Direct, the Mario makers revealed there would be three GameCube games available on the Nintendo Classics app. Below, you can see what these games are (highlighted in bold), plus every single game shown that was advertised as 'coming soon' to the service. It's certainly not the most exhaustive list, but it's a decent selection of some major, interesting, rarer, or expensive titles stuck on the system. That gives me hope Nintendo just might be willing to dig into the GameCube library and give more games a second chance at finding an audience. I know that Star Fox fans don't have a lot of love for Rare's action-adventure title, but I do, and this is my list. Born from a merger between a Star Fox sequel and Dinosaur Planet, a game Rare had in development at the time, Star Fox Adventures sees hotshot Arwing pilot Fox McCloud exploring Dinosaur Planet… on foot. Equipped with a lost staff and accompanied by his pipsqueak triceratops companion, Prince Tricky, Fox sets out on a very different quest to save the various dinosaur races from the evil General Scales. Gameplay is analogous to 3D Zeldas. You explore various regions, solve puzzles, fight enemies, and unlock new powers as you go. There's no denying that it's a vast departure from the franchise's high-octane space battles, and it features melee combat that will feel limited by today's standards, but I maintain it's a solid adventure. Star Fox diehards are probably hoping that Star Fox Assault is the game that makes it to Switch 2, but I'd still love the chance to revisit Dinosaur Planet, if possible. Silicon Knights' Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem likely needs no introduction to horror fans, as this game has endured as a cult favorite from the console, thanks in no small part to its fourth wall-breaking scares. It's a story of unknown forces being tangled up in a millennia-old plot and various characters across time, all working to thwart an ancient evil. In between chapters, you'll take control of protagonist Alex, using the knowledge she learns from these episodes to explore her grandfather's Rhode Island mansion, trying to figure out what happened to her murdered relative. Sure, combat will feel clunky by today's standards, and the freaky 'sanity effects' scares that mimicked old TV settings won't land the same way they would if you were playing 20 years back on a CRT TV. But these elements make Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem a novel enough game that new players should give it a chance. Despite being an avid Metroidvania fan, I very much prefer the "vania" side of the genre, and have far more experience slaying vampires as the Belmont clan in Castlevania than I do battling space pirates. But after tackling several Metroid adventures on Switch, thanks to Nintendo Switch Online, Metroid Dread, and Metroid Prime Remastered, I'm keen to see as much of the franchise as possible. While I've since dug into a lot of the 2D adventures, I'm eager to see more of the Prime line, without having to dig out my GameCube and track down a copy on the secondhand market. Multiplayer offering aside, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes comes highly recommended (it's 92 on MetaCritic) and that's seemingly down to tougher combat, new weapons, the atmosphere, and the impressive visuals. Would I prefer to see the rest of the Prime trilogy remastered and brought to Switch? Absolutely, but if not, I'll settle for Echoes on Nintendo Classics. Look, if Nintendo is seemingly content to never bring the Wii U Zelda ports to the current gen (and Wind Waker is a launch day GameCube Switch 2 release), this will have to do. Darker in tone than its island-hopping forebear, this 3D action-adventure sees us playing as Link, a humble farmhand fated to save the land from the King of Shadows, Zant, who plunges parts of the realm into perpetual Twilight. With the help of the impish creature, Midna, and the use of his wolf form, Link explores the far reaches of Hyrule, delving into dungeons, tackling bosses and puzzles, and utilizing various artifacts and powers to save both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm from this invading evil. Before I say anything, I don't expect this will happen at all. A quick look across the internet will show you a clear appetite for this beloved licensed game to make a comeback… so there must be a reason why it hasn't. Nevertheless, it was a classic for many gamers of my generation, and for good reason: It's essentially GTA: Springfield. Following on from Crazy Taxi riff, The Simpsons: Road Rage, and The Simpsons: Hit & Run moved over to aping Rockstar's tentpole series. Taking the form of an extended episode of the show (complete with the show's writers and voice cast), the game sees players roaming around a sandbox Springfield, primarily from behind the wheel of various vehicles from the show. Along the way, you'll tackle missions, hunt for secrets and collectables, or earn cash to spend on new cars and outfits. It's a genuinely funny ride. And, seeing as we've never had the sequel or remaster so many of us want, it'd be nice to see it make a comeback on Switch 2. I've dipped into the Wario Land series over the years, but until I started working on this list, I must confess I had no idea that Mario's nemesis had gotten his own quasi-3D platforming adventure on the GameCube — and now I want to play it. Wario World finds the titular treasure-loving gremlin cozied up inside his castle, atop huge piles of treasure. Well, until a mysterious black jewel comes to life and transforms his treasure into monsters and warps the world around him into some bizarre dimension. True to his way, Wario sets off to recover his fortune and does so by beating up bad guys and bosses, solving puzzles and sucking up his precious gold. Reviews I've read don't necessarily make it sound like an all-time classic. But this intriguing (if short) adventure is one that's piqued my interest. Nintendo: do the right thing and bring it back! Hideki Kamiya's bizarre 2.5D cel-shaded beat 'em up is fascinating stuff. You take control of Joe, an everyday film buff who has to spring into action after a trip to the movies goes wrong. After a movie villain reaches through the silver screen and kidnaps Joe's girlfriend, Joe enters "Movieland" to rescue her. Here, Joe meets the superhero Captain Blue and is gifted a V-Watch. This device allows him to transform into a superhero who can deploy various 'VFX' powers like slowing down or speeding up time as he punches and kicks his way through tons of cartoonish bad guys. What follows is an amazing beat 'em up experience unlike anything else I've played. Campy and challenging, Viewtiful Joe is a 1-2 punch of beautiful visuals and addictive combat. It's a sharp and incredibly stylish experience that I'd love to come to Nintendo's new console.
Digital Trends
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
I'm already having a blast with FBC: Firebreak's creative co-op action
As I fought a giant sticky note monster deep within the executive offices of the Federal Bureau of Control, I found quiet solace in the fact that Remedy Entertainment hadn't lost any of its quirky, wildly creative charm with its new cooperative first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak. Whenever a studio known for excellent single-player adventures branches out and tries something different, it always feels like a toss-up as to whether or not it'll succeed. Situations like Rare and Sea of Thieves stand as success stories, while disasters like Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League serve as cautionary tales. Fortunately, after going hands-on with the game for three hours, it feels like FBC: Firebreak is going to be the former, not the latter. Recommended Videos The studio's lack of experience with the genre can be seen in things like UI clarity, but for the most part, this is a cooperative shooter that thrives thanks to satisfying gun play and creative mission design that takes full advantage of Remedy's wacky connected universe. FBC: Firebreak is a game I already want to go back and play more of, which is a good sign after just a few hours of hands-on. In FBC: Firebreak, players control volunteers clearing out supernatural threats that have overtaken The Oldest House. Players complete different jobs in teams of three, completing special mission-specific objectives before returning to the elevator and leaving. It occupies the same space as games like Left 4 Dead and Deep Rock Galactic, which is a smart move for Remedy rather than trying to make a name for itself in the competitive extraction shooter or battle royale spaces. Each player can equip a different kit associated with a different element. I used the Jump Kit, which centers around electrocuting enemies. A good team composition would also include a kit that could get enemies wet, as that increased the area of effect for my electrical abilities. Different situations in each of FBC's levels impact the elements at play. A fiery grenade can set off a sprinkler, staying near a furnace for too long can cause heat damage, or holding radiated leech pearls for too long could poison me. A lot of the fun in FBC comes from the interplay of all these elements, and I was cheering when my squad could pull off a devastating enemy combo. The gunplay of FBC also feels tight so far, with the machine gun becoming a favorite of mine due to how the gun animated as I fired it. As someone who was disappointed by only being able to wield a pistol in Control, I appreciate that FBC lets me use some of the other weapons I've seen in that world. FBC is at its strongest when it leans into the Remedy of it all. Exploring the furnace from a new angle made me more intimately familiar with the area, while level conceits like sticky note monsters or growths on a wall that drop radioactive pearls are supernatural in a way that only quite works in Remedy's Connected Universe. I'm also grateful that this hands-on affirmed that FBC has strong mission design. The weakness of many co-op shooters, like Suicide Squad, is that missions often just boil down to killing a certain number of enemies and moving on. FBC is never quite that simple, having players move a shuttle along a track as they collect pearls or run around the furnace activating generators as hordes of enemies charge at players. The objectives change as players increase the difficulty, which should add some more replay value. FBC isn't like other cooperative shooters, and that's its greatest strength. It's also why I hope it'll allow me to overlook some of Remedy's growing pains as it enters the multiplayer space with a new interpretation on the world of Control. During my time with FBC, there were some UI and UX clarity issues. For instance, I had trouble understanding which enemies were damaging me. One objective, which had my team filling barrels with a substance before throwing them into a giant furnace, was confusing because it wasn't completely clear which barrels were filled or where we could fill them. In a debrief before my demo, Remedy said it was working on making features, systems, and UI clearer, so hopefully some of that will be resolved before launch. If it can clean all of that up, though, Remedy has what could be a gem of a multiplayer shooter on its hands. As someone subscribed to both of the services FBC is launching onto, I'm eager to give it another shot when it comes out. FBC: Firebreak launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on June 17 and will be available from day one as part of the PS Plus Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalogs.
