After loading up on a fact sheet and a trailer from the recently-concluded GDC, we now bring you an interview with Adrain Sikora, producer for Warhound by Techland. According to Sikora, there are about 25 people currently working on the game, give or take a few coming and going for other simultaneous projects.

That may not sound much, but it appears that development is going along just fine as he reveals that Warhound is in fact already 50% complete. Anyway, you guys already know that this is a mercenary-themed FPS. So what else is there in this game? Says Sikora,

We want the player to have as much freedom as possible, whenever he chooses his missions, weapons, plans his character's training or during combat. In the game, the player has to take care of the training and finances, and he has to secure new contracts. You'll have to watch your competitors and enemies closely, because they might come after you. Our script has multiple plot lines.

Hmmm... interesting, indeed. But there's more. While presently, they are keeping their goals practical, with only a single game ending in mind, the team is still open to the consideration of having alternative endings as well, provided that they still have enough time to work on them.

   

Tackling more the single-player campaign, Sikora explains that it's a matter of progression in the game, getting to the mercenary ranking in order to gain access to more rewarding missions. And the weapons? Well, they're still keeping it an open issue, but they're definitely adding new types and models.

But if you want a quick rundown, there's gonna be half-trucks, quads, APC's, tanks and choppers. Of course, the usual pistols, SMGs, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers will be making an appearance to make the game rock. As for the game's multiplayer bit, no need to worry cos there's definitely a lot of action stashed for you there.

We want to have classic modes, like deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and so on, with up to 32 players. We are also working on our own ranking system for online players, which will also allow you to create custom character classes. You'll also get to use skills and choose equipment just as you'd do in single player. There'll be vehicles in MP too.

Anyhow, only half the battle is done for the guys at Techland. In fact, they have yet to choose a publisher for Warhound. But they are definitely keen on keeping their Q4 deadline for the release. Until then, just keep it locked here for more details.

Fresh off from the GDC, Microsoft announced their plans of launching a 512 MB Memory Unit for their next-gen console, the Xbox 360. Apart from this, they also revealed that they are also bent on increasing the official size limit of the Xbox Live Arcade games from 50 MB to 150 MB.

According to Microsoft, you can expect this upgrade to be available worldwide starting April 3rd of this year for an estimated price of US$ 49.99 in North America. The 512MB memory unit will be pre-loaded with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, albeit for a limited time only. As for the original 64MB memory unit, they will be dropping the price from US$ 39.99 to US$ 29.99.

According to Chris Early, XBLA production unit manager, "the new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox LIVE can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox LIVE Arcade games on Xbox 360."

Microsoft is expected to present their upcoming games for the XBLA this week at GDC.

• Boom Boom Rocket  (EA and Bizarre Creations) - Spring release for 800 Microsoft Points
• 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures (Sierra Online and Wanako Games) - the first outdoor sports game on the XBLA where you can putt your way through 36 holes on wild courses, such as the Classic Carnival and Outer Space settings
• Eets: Chowdown (Klei Entertainment Inc.) - a PC original revamped for the Xbox 360 with new items and 120 new levels
• Jetpack Refuelled (Rare Ltd.) - a reinvention of the 1983 space blaster classic with enhanced graphics and new features suited for the XBLA. Expect 100 new high-definition levels to up the challenge.
• Pinball FX (ZEN Studios Ltd.) - now with real-time head-to-head competition features over Xbox LIVE and Xbox LIVE Vision camera support.

 

Can't get enough of giant insects and alien ships? Well, here's another dose of alien shooting fun.

Earth Defense Force 2017 features giant alien insects that would make Godzilla pee his pants (her metaphorical pants) and ginormous alien robots bigger than Voltron. Remember those big alien machines in War of the Worlds? Imagine them in hordes. So how do you beat them? Get some friends and strap on your rocket launcher because you'll be in for a fight.

Earth Defense Force 2017 will be hitting the shelves this March. We'll quit babbling so you can finally watch the videos.

Download: [Earth Defense Force 2017: Insects]
Download: [Earth Defense Force 2017: Machines]

How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways...everybody's been lovin' the new features that have been popping up Bungie's Halo 3, and for the moment, we've got 1Up taking about the top five things they liked, as they walked away from a playtest over at Bungie's studio:

1. The MA5C Assault Rifle
Bungie's updates to Halo 3 included balancing out the humble assault rifle, hacking down the ammo cap to 32, and beefing up its long-range accuracy. A fairly balanced weapon for the new game, the MA5C ensures that even guys who've just respawned will have a fighting chance against the likes of dual-wield fighters. The gun begins to handle like a real-life H&K G41 - solid, functional, and versatile.

2. New control setups:
The reload button's been mapped to the bumpers - During a dual-wield, RB reloads the right weapon and LB reloads the left weapon. Similarly, vehicle-boarding, weapon pick-up, and other formerly X-button functions are now allocated to the RB button. While the 1Up team admitted to getting used to the new setup, the new degree of movement freed up by the new controls was noticed, such as their ability to look around while reloading.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Giant bugs, killer mechs, and tons o' guns. What more could a dude ask for? Capcom producer Keiji Inafune mentioned in a recent interview with Kotaku that Lost Planet: Extreme Condition was inspired by the runaway hit FPS, Halo.

While Halo sales were reputedly low in Japan compared to its U.S. release, this hadn't stopped game developer Capcom from taking notice, and coming up with their own twist to the Xbox's flagship game. "I'm a big Halo fan, but it's not well known in Japan. It's very interesting, but very American," Inafune said about Halo, and about the new twist they had in mind.

Set on a mysterious ice-covered planet, the game puts the player in the shoes of Wayne, an amnesiac trying to find the Green Eye, a mysterious artifact connected to the planet's human life. Story aside, the game plays much like its mentioned inspiration, with the player at the command of machine guns, rocket launchers and shotguns as they fight their way through space pirates, and the Akrid: bug-like creatures that ranged from human-sized nasties to house-sized behemoths.

Then there's the mechs, Inafune's mentioned twist - and one of Japan's cultural hallmarks. Called Vital Suits, they're way more versatile than the typical hover sled or dune buggy you've ever driven in Halo, are customizable, with some variants capable of transform to suit specific needs in-game.

Lost Planet's due for global release this January, and we're certainly keeping our fingers crossed on just how much this new element adds to the gameplay, thanks to Japan's "special touch".

Pre-Order: [Lost Planet]

From 3D Realms comes this short burst of upcoming Prey updates:

• 360 patch is in testing
• PC patch also in testing
• New DM models are coming
• New DM maps are coming

Unfortunately, that's all the info we could get our hands on. But don't worry, we'll keep you posted as soon as the details come in. Meanwhile here is one Prey gamer's wish list on what he hopes the upcoming 360 patch will include:

• Fix the random shoot one rocket... switch to another weapon... then quickly switch back to rocket and fire (shoots multiple rockets at once). This works for all weapons and makes the firing rate "1000000x faster"
• Add option for "no warm up damage" in warm up mode
• Have a locked teams function preventing  people to randomly join your team and start killing you
• Make some of the new maps more like Roadhouse
• Tune down the rocket launcher
• More profanity in the multiplayer mode

Any more dreamers out there?