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The title of upcoming 007 racing videogame from
Activision has been leaked as "James Bond: Bloodstone"...
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Next 007 Videogame Titled 'Bloodstone'?
21st April 2010
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Thanks to early pre-order pages published
on the website of entertainment high-street store HMV,
the title of the next James Bond videogame has apparently
leaked out.
"James Bond: Bloodstone" will
be the second game published by Activision under the 007
licence,
which they took over from
EA back in May 2006. Racing-focused studio Bizarre
Creations, the team behind "Blur" and the "Project
Gotham Racing" franchise, are understood to have been
developing the game since late 2007. Platforms for "Bloodstone" are
listed as Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. |
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It is the first 007 videogame to have its title
leaked prematurely by a retailer. Previous games such as the
aborted "Casino Royale" project by EA, their last title
"From Russia With Love" (2005), spin-off shooter "GoldenEye:
Rogue Agent" (2004), and the blockbuster "Everything or Nothing"
(2004) were all
exclusively
revealed on MI6.
Shortly after news of the leak broke today,
Activision quickly registered the domain name 'bloodstonegame.com',
indicating that the title will be used.
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Rumours are circulating that "Bloodstone" will
not be just a Driving/Racing game as the listing states,
but will also include some FPS elements, too. This may
be the gaming media confusing the racing title with another
Bond videogame currently under secret development at Activision
that will feature an original storyline. Their first Bond
game, "Quantum of
Solace", was an FPS title produced by Treyarch,
the same studio as their "Call of Duty" series.
English actor Adam
Croasdell will provide the voice of James Bond. Best known for his role as Dr.
Al Jenkins in the BBC soap opera "EastEnders",
Croasdell is the latest in a line of 007
videogame voice-over artists. Croasdell, 29, revealed
in an interview with BBC Asian Network that he was thrilled
to be offered the part because he is keen to keep his career
varied. "I have just played James Bond in the new
James Bond video game - how weird is that? I don't know
what the future holds, but I'm always into varying up what
comes my way, trying new things." |
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History
The racing game was first hinted at back
in November 2007, when Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has
said that the company was committed to revitalising the James
Bond
brand. "We
have our best development studios working on the product, we
have a second
team working on another Bond product and we're putting great
resources against it," he said. "We'll be working with
Bizarre to develop a great concept and brand in racing, as well
as working with their second team, which is very talented in
the action genre. This team will most probably be working on
a property that Activision already owns," said Activision's
EVP, Robin Kaminsky, shortly after Activision
acquired the studio in October 2007. Despite general understanding
that their second title would be a racing game, it wasn't until
December 2008
that Activision confirmed their
plans.
Slippage
"Bloodstone" has seen numerous delays. It was
initially scheduled for release in September 2009, but was shelved
to 'early 2010' to avoid competing with other titles and
to allow Bizarre Creations time to polish. In February, Activision
announced
the title would slip
further, to the latter half of 2010. A leaked
release schedule from UK retailer GAME then
pegged the title to an October 2010 release.
Past Non-Shooters
Previous videogame licensee Electronic Arts flirted with different ways to
use the James Bond licence, including the critically-slammed "Goldeneye:
Rogue Agent" in 2004 where players took control of a villain. EA also
tested out the driving genre with "007
Racing" in 2000, which was also met with poor reviews. MI6 can reveal
that a sequel was in the pipeline but was canned mid-way through production.
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