It's been a long time since we've heard anything from the ambitious, lore-rich Elveon or news of its adaptation to Windows, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and (surprise!) Sony's PlayStation 3. Has the action RPG of Elven influence been shelved? That's a negatory, bub. The project apparently changed hands, and Elveon now has hopes of entering the gaming fray in 2009 thanks to the independent game company, Climax Group. Learn more about the switcheroo at the full story.

 

Julian Eggebrecht, Factor 5 president and lead director, has been announced as the opening keynote speaker for the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) 2007 in Leipzig (also known as the Leipzig Games Convention). Details of his speech have yet to be revealed, but we can expect it to be interesting at the very least. Factor 5 is currently working on the PS3-exclusive game Lair.

Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios' president, will also be giving a keynote focusing on the company's classic games. The GCDC 2007 will be held from August 20 to 22 in Leipzig, Germany. Other GCDC 2007 international speakers will include:

• Jason Manley (Massive Black)
• Christopher Schmitz, (10Tacle Studios)
• Jennifer MacLean (Comcast Interactive Media)
• Dr. Michael Wimmer (The University of Vienna)
• Alexander Fernández (Streamline Studios)
• Cindy Armstrong (Webzen)
• Amir Taaki (Crystalspace)
• Jeff Strain (ArenaNet)
• Vlad Ihora (Telia Sonora)
• Barbara Lippe (Avaloop IT Solutions)
• Pamela Kato (The GamerX)
• Uwe Nikl (Level 3)
• Matt Firor (Ultra Mega Games)
• Konstantin Ewald (Osborne Clarke)

The first release of Ready 2 Rumble, a boxing game, for the Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Nintendo 64 in 1999 had many players calling it the new Punch-out. The second iteration was released for multiple systems as well and was called Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2.

One of the main draws of this series is a special move all the boxers possess called a Rumble Flurry. You spell the world "RUMBLE" by continuously pounding on your opponent, and once it's fully spelled out you can unleash the Rumble Flurry. They also include boxers who mimic famous personalities (Like Bill Clinton in Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2). This game developed a cult following and is considered by some to be a classic.

Singapore subsidiary 10TACLE STUDIOS Pte Ltd. together with licensor, The Buffer Partnership and executive producer Stereo Mode, are currently making the third iteration of Ready 2 Rumble. It is being developed for multiple platforms, although there is no word on which platforms they will be on.

We hope that they include current famous personalities in the latest version. Still, despite all the gimmicks they will add, one has to wonder how it will fare against the boxing games that are currently in the market.

Some of you guys must be asking, "Elveon? What in blazes is that?" Not much is known of the game so far, and frankly, the hype isn't as great as any of the other current next-gen games out there. We decided to do some prodding of our own once again and managed to squeeze out all the new juicy info from 10tacles Studios about their upcoming action RPG for the 360 and PC.

If you thought that this title wasn't worth a second glance, then you better own up. After reading the transcript of this interview with Managing Director Slavo Hazucha from Studio Slovakia, you might actually start to think that Elveon could potentially be one of the biggest games of next year.

  

We're thanking our good man Slavo and the whole of 10tacle Studios for allowing us to have this interview. And if we had to some it up in one word, it'd have to be "epic." We got to talk about Tolkien, the Unreal Engine 3, martial artists, prophecies, gods, the world of Naon, and some hints of a possible sequel in the future...

Click the "Full Article" link to see the full interview!

What's big, red, Italian, and loved by both gamers and non-gamer? Car manufacturer Ferrari and 10Tacle studios have just signed a new agreement that'll allow 10Tacle to use the Ferrari label and palette for future games in their roster games.

In addition to being licensed to use the Italian car manufacturer's name, 10tacle also plans to work closely with Ferrari for the further development of these said games. 10TACLE STUDIOS AG chairman Michele Pes had this to say about this recent expansion:

The expansion of our racing portfolio is an important part of our strategy for growth. Ferrari is synonymous with automotive excellence in both sports and racing cars. A license to use the Ferrari brand name and cars is the best a computer games developer in this field can acquire. We will do our very best to recreate the passionate experience of driving a Ferrari as realistically as possible.

While we're not too familiar with 10tacle's track record with racing games, readers might remember this studio as the developer behind the Elveon RPG.

QJ visited 10Tacle studios to squeeze a great amount of detail out of them about Elveon. We peeked over at GameSpy to have a small taste, a teaser, if you will, of this RPG/beat'em-up hybrid. And CVG nailed down the mastermind behind the game, Slavo Hazucha, to shake down more details of this upcoming title.

CVG learns that the gods of Naon, whom we first learned of in the full backstory lowdown from 10Tacle, will be integrated, somewhat, into the gameplay, sort of like the Olympian gods in Greek mythology. Story-wise, the Elvish hero makes a pact with the gods so that he can kick a**, liberate an ancient city, and fulfill a long-destined prophecy.

Gameplay-wise, these gods and godlike powers will not manifest themselves like magical powers like firebolts and such. Instead, there are some points where a god will intervene to grant the hero a temporary power. Sometimes the hero can call down the wrath of the gods on his enemies. Sometimes he's have to get down on his knees and beg the gods' mercy - or try the challenge out on his own. To us, it's all a deus ex machina thing (or more properly, dei ex machina: gods out of the machine).

Hazucha tells CVG that players can expect many optional quests along with the main storyline. Action-only players can invest about 15-20 hours into the game, whereas the more thorough RPG player can burn up to 25-30 hours. The game itself will be somewhat linear, taking place in levels, but the storyline that runs alongside the game is not. You'll be jumping between real-time and flashbacks between levels, "so that the player will feel like he is really walking in an ancient heroic legend."

And there will be multiple endings available, says Hazucha. There goes the initial 30-hour estimate.

Running off the Unreal 3 engine, expect to see the mythical world of Elveon play out in both the Xbox 360 and PC.

It's still a year to its scheduled release in summer 2007, but GameSpy was given a small preview of  Elveon's current progress. They got their hands on the combat system, they had a taste of the game modes currently planned for the game, and they were given a tour of the rich Elven history of the game world.

Elveon is set against a rich, deep, and intricate history of legends and lore, with a backstory that could almost rival Tolkien. Okay, honestly it's hard for anything in fantasy to rival Tolkien, but 10tacle pays the same attention to detail with Elveon as Tolkien did with Middle-Earth. We've talked about this before in a previous feature. Even better, part of the backstory is actually playable.

Besides the main hero's campaign, the game also features three distinct gameplay sequences or modes. "Legend" mode is what we meant when we said "the backstory is playable." Players will control the legendary heroes of Elveon's past, fighting in epic and momentous adventures that shaped the history of the game world, and in doing so can gain important clues to completing the main campaign.

There's also a Griffon-riding mode (which sounds like a rail shooter, but nothing confirmed on it yet). Last is the Dragon Room mode, which features four "paths" or challenges. Completing each path will unlock a new attack for one of the hero's four weapons: sword, spear, bow, and knives.

Speaking of weapons, combat in Elveon will not be a button mash-fest. True to its Elven heritage, combat in the game will be based on elegant button presses, precise timing, and not a little risk-taking on the player's part. To simply throw blow after blow will drain your character's stamina, and that's no good. To learn how to block, parry, and chain your strikes together into a vicious attack is the key to victory.

There are key differences between the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game. Given the control mechanics of each, the 360 will be more action-oriented, while the PC will be more RPG-oriented. Weirdly enough, the GameSpy preview was previewing the PC version, but their verdict was that it pretty much "fell squarely in the action category." If that's the PC version, how much more action can the 360 Elveon pack?

The guide for the Leipzig Games Convention has been scanned. The above pictures are the cover as well as some ads for the White PSP. The scans below are pages for the companies that will be present at the show. From top left to bottom right, they are Sony, Activision, 10tacle Studios, Midway, Ubisoft, Vivendi, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Atari. Also below that are the floor plans for the show.

The lists provided likely aren't a full list of games available. Some games that we know to be in development for multiple systems are only shown as featured for one system for some reason. Examples include Call of Duty 3 and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Nintendo is expected to show new Wii titles at the show and their release list is blank to keep it all secret. Only a few more day 'til the show!

  

  

 

We cover the length and breadth of Naon, and submit to you our findings

Elveon is a title that gamers have kind of ignored, for whatever reason, maybe because it's not Gears of War, or Mass Effect, or Lost Planet, however, having seen the game in action behind closed doors at E3, we can tell you here and now that Elveon could very well be something quite special when it hits next year.

We've pooled our resources here at QJ to come up with every scrap of info we have on the game in order to present this glimpse into 10tacle Studios Epic Elvish action RPG.

Read the full article right after the jump!

This action adventure game set in the medieval times, Elveon, was announced last year for the Xbox 360 by game developer 10Tacle Studios.

As an experienced elite warrior in the game, your ultimate goal is to liberate the city of Nimathar (a portal to the realm of the gods). This will help keep the peace in the Elven realm of Naon where descendants of the gods are causing trouble that might eventually lead to an all-out war.

We've come across several screenshots of 10Tacle Studios' Elveon for the PC and for the next-gen consoles. This game will also be using the Unreal engine 3.