Our current favourite person, Lorne Lanning, founder and co-owner of Oddworld Inhabitants stated: “Oddworld Inhabitants is always overwhelmed by the fan dedication to Abe and the games and hope to keep them involved in the creative process for future games. We are all excited about giving a new generation of gamers the opportunity to play Abe’s Oddysee the way they deserve.”

Gameplay features will include:

· Fully 3D rendered environments with ‘2.5D’ gameplay;
· Redesigned levels to take advantage of the new engine;
· Rerecorded sounds and voices, including some surprises; and
· Full integration with gaming platforms.

Along with a launch on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in the fourth quarter of 2013, you look to acquire the game Playstation Vita and PC, with the latter due sometime after.

“We respect Nintendo as a highly successful competitor. Of course we will watch what they’re doing with interest. It’s a very interesting product they’re bringing to market. I don’t have a clear view on how successful it will be. And to a large extent it doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what the great British public think. So we will see.

“It’s probably one to be concerned about far more and watch more carefully into next year. But we feel very confident that in the PlayStation and we won’t be going after the same niche early adopter market they’ll be going after this Holiday. I think we’re sitting in separate camps at this stage, so it won’t be head to head.

“They’ve been a very key player in the market overall as you well know in recent years. So we have to respect that, watch that and do our best to compete with that”

And Microsoft? Well, they’ve got Halo 4 coming up so yeah.

During his keynote speech at this year’s Eurogamer expo, Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar talked about the prestige system in Black Ops 2 and how it will differ from what we’re used to seeing till now.

“Congratulations. Here’s a new icon. Repeat the entire game. What? What?” he began mockingly. “This is a very simple example of how we are damned if we do and damned if we do not. Looking back at these mechanics, play 55 levels, hit a button, get a new rank icon, start over.”

Then he went on to talk about some stats and mistakes the system had been making earlier: “I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, about how to get people to prestige. We kept going about it the wrong way. We kept saying, here are some more rewards if you do it. Here is this extra stuff if you decide to hit the prestige button.

“Then I looked at a graph of the people who play and what happens to them when they hit level 55 or whatever the max level is, and how they drop off, and how few people actually go to max prestige. I know they could go to max prestige because their time play suggests they could have. I have this data. I know this for a fact.

“They just stopped levelling. Maybe it’s because we keep taking away everything. Maybe. Maybe that’s the reason.”

But how will Blops 2 will be any different, you say? Here’s how. “In Black Ops 2 prestige is not a start over system,” he said. “When you prestige in Black Ops 2 it will not reset your weapon levelling. If you are level four on a gun you will still be level four when you cycle back around to that gun. Same with all your cosmetics, any camo you’ve unlocked or emblem, all the personalisation, all the fancy backgrounds you managed to achieve, all of that will still be there.”

Well, about f*cking time. What do you think of this? Tell us in your comments!

[Eurogamer]

Eurogamer has announced that developer sessions at this year’s Eurogamer Expo will be streamed online as well, on Eurogamer itself and their Youtube channel.

These sessions will show off several high profile games, including the likes of Black Ops 2, Halo 4, Far Cry 3, Assassin’s Creed 3 and much more.

“This year we’re delighted to be sharing more of the Eurogamer Expo online than we ever have before,” said Eurogamer Managing Director Rupert Loman. “Following the developer sessions live online gives you a window into one of the most exciting aspects of the show.”

Here’s the full schedule:

Thursday 27th September
12:00 – Frank O’Connor from 343 Industries – Halo 4
13:00 – Jamie Keen from Ubisoft Montreal – Far Cry 3
16:00 – Dean Hall from Bohemia Interactive – DayZ Standalone
17:30 – Torben Ellert/Christian Elverdam from IO Interactive – Hitman: Absolution

Friday 28th September
12:00 – Chet Faliszek from Valve Software – How to give yourself a job in the game industry
13:00 – Alex Hutchinson/Jonathan Cooper from Ubisoft Montreal – Assassin’s Creed 3
14:00 – Matt Webster from Criterion Games – Need for Speed: Most Wanted
15:00 – David Vonderhaar from Treyarch – Call of Duty: Blacks Ops II – Challenging Assumptions
16:00 – Ralph Fulton from Playground Games – Forza Horizon

Saturday 29th September
13:30 – David Footman from Ubisoft Toronto – Splinter Cell: Blacklist
15:30 – Clive Moody from Codemasters Racing – GRID 2: Total Race Day Immersion
16:30 – Peter Holzapfel from Crytek – Warface
17:30 – Jean Max-Morris from DONTNOD – Remember Me

Sunday 30th September
12:00 – Peter Molyneux from 22 Cans – Curiosity
13:30 – Meagan Marie/Brian Horton from Crystal Dynamics – Tomb Raider
15:00 – Lorne Lanning from Oddworld Inhabitants – Abe’s Oddysee HD
16:00 – Dominic Matthews from Ninja Theory – DmC: Devil May Cry

Eurogamer has announced the lineup for the Indie Games Arcade at this year’s Eurogamer Expo. It includes 16 PC indie titles, including games like DRM, Proteus, Sokobond and more.

Have a look at the full list:

– BaraBariBall (Noah Sasso)
– Dirac (Orihaus)
– Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
– DRM: Death Ray Manta (Rob Fearon)
– Gear Up (Doctor Entertainment)
– Kairo (Locked Door Puzzle)
– Last Knight (David Hagemann)
– Proteus (Ed Key/David Kanaga)
– Sentinel (Matthew Brown)
– Sokobond (Alan Hazelden)
– The Button Affair (Oliver Clarke)
– Tower of the Gorillion (Circuiton World Design)
– Where is My Heart? (Die Gut Fabrik)
– Zineth (Arcade Kids)

“The IGA gets better every year,” said Indie Games Arcade curator David Hayward. “This time, I’m especially pleased to have games with local multiplayer. With BariBaraBall and A Bastard, there’s plenty of opportunity to thrash your mates, and if that’s not your kind of thing, Tower of The Gorillion is co-op.”

Stay tuned for more updates.

Eurogamer events director David Lilley said, “We are incredibly excited to be able to showcase Nintendo’s ground-breaking new Wii U game console at this year’s Eurogamer Expo. This will be the first time gamers get to go hands-on with it in the UK.”

Launching this November, the Wii U has been an object of curiosity thanks to it’s GamePad which offers an integrated second screen which can be used independently of the TV as well as transferring some game experiences to the handheld seamlessly.

The Eurogamer Expo will take place at London’s Earls Court from September 27th to 30th 2012 and is expected to have over 50,000 attendees. Along with the Wii U, there will be a number of high profile games and developer sessions in store as well.

It’s been confirmed that Ubisoft will be hosting developer sessions at this year’s Eurogamer Expo on September 29th.

The games listed are Assassin’s Creed III, Far Cry 3 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

Jamie Kean, Lead Designer on Far Cry 3, will be on stage at 1pm on Thursday 27th September to talk about the upcoming FPS. Then, at 1pm on Friday 28th September, Ubisoft Montreal’s Alex Hutchinson (Creative Director) and Jonathan Cooper (Animation Director) will be on stage to talk about AC3.

Finally, Ubisoft Toronto Cinematic Director David Footman will introduce Splinter Cell: Blacklist to attendees in a developer session on Saturday 29th September at 1.30pm.

“We’re delighted to welcome the developers of three of our favourite game series to the Eurogamer Expo developer sessions stage this year,” said Eurogamer’s Tom Bramwell. “Assassin’s Creed III is going to be one of the games of the year, Far Cry 3 looks gorgeous and imaginative, and we’re thrilled to have Splinter Cell: Blacklist as well ahead of its 2013 launch.”

Eurogamer operations director of Tom Bramwell said, “Lara Croft is a British icon, so it seems fitting that Crystal Dynamics should choose London’s Eurogamer Expo to give gamers an in-depth look at her latest adventure. We’re also delighted to welcome IO Interactive and Hitman: Absolution back to the Eurogamer Expo to show us more of their exciting new gameplay mode!”

IO Interactive will take the stage on September 27th with an exclusive presentation of Contracts multiplayer mode to close the first day of the show.

Crystal Dynamics, though, will hold an extended sessions on September 30th for the Crossroads demo, which amounts to over 60 minutes of stage time. That’s a lot of Lara this far off from the game’s release next year.

Best of all, both games will be on the floor throughout the expo for attendees to try out.

This will be the first time the game will be playable in the UK, and will featured on 20 PCs, showing various missions including player vs player. Even more interestingly, the development team will be on the floor from September 27th to 30th, just in case any one wants to sign up for the beta. Not to mention free goodies.

Eurogamer operations director Tom Bramwell stated, “We’re delighted that the Eurogamer Expo will be the first place UK gamers can go hands-on with Warface. Crytek has gone in a bold new direction with this game and we think gamers are going to enjoy playing it and learning more about why it’s been made this way.”

But that’s not all. Crytek producer Peter Holzapfel will host a developer session on September 29th, to explain the development and features behind the game. Holzapfel will also talk about why they decided to go free-to-play with the game.

Eurogamer operations director Tom Bramwell stated, “DmC: Devil May Cry and Remember Me aren’t due out until 2013, but Eurogamer Expo attendees can hear from the development team months in advance. They are two of the most exciting games announced for the next calendar year and we’re thrilled to have them.”

Ninja Theory design chief Tameem Antoniades and Capcom’s Alex Jones will oversee the session as they walk players through the new features via live demo. This will take place on September 30th but DmC will be playable by attendees throughout the event.

On the other hand, Remember Me will be presented live by DONTNOD creative director Jean Max-Morris and Capcom senior producer Matt Hart on September 29th. Having been announced only a few weeks ago at GamesCom, it’s doubtful that it will be playable on the event floor.