A couple of things we didn't mention from last week that you might want to discuss (if you haven't already in Chatterbox of course). First, the news that GCHQ is running an in-game recruitment drive, via its adverting agency TMP Worldwide and in-game ads specialist, Massive Inc. Beginning at the end of October, the recruitment ads will be seen in a variety of relevant Xbox 360 titles including the predictable Splinter Cell Double Agent and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas as well as Need for Speed Carbon, because members of the British Intelligence services need to be able to source and heavily customise Japanese sports cars at a moment's notice.
The big debate online has been: will game players make good spies? Well, gamers are pretty good at sitting still in front of a screen for hours on end performing repetitive tasks - which is the real-life lot of most intelligence operatives. Sadly, it is unlikely those who reply to the adverts will be told, "Ah, I see you've performed well on the Call of Duty 4 beta - here's a Walther PPK, you'll be leaving for Tehran in an hour." (more here.)
The other story was Capcom's Gamer Day event in London. Here the company unveiled Street Fighter IV (follow the link to see the official trailer), which may or may not be 2D with Okami-style visuals. Also, Bionic Commando is being exhumed for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 with lead character Nathan Spencer voiced by Faith No More crooner Mike Patton.
Downloadable game announcements included overhead shooter, Rocketman: Axis of Evil and Games Workshop conversion, Talisman, as well as familiar updates, Commando 3 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. (More here.)
Capcom even had room for some new 'IP' - the action adventure title, Dark Void, from Airtight Games, promising. "fast-paced vertical combat mixed with mid-air and on-foot action." Oh and Lost Planet is breaking out of its Xbox orbit and heading to PS3 with new multiplayer maps and characters, but no significant in-game additions. Also the criminally under-bought Okami is off to Wii, complete with a new control system.
On the subject of Wii - and perhaps of interest to those excited by the Street Fighter IV news: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core will be hitting Nintendo's console. Usually written off as a hardcore fighting game series, the Guilty Gears titles are in fact, an extremely balanced and entertaining. If you still have a Dreamcast hidden away somewhere, I advise you to dust it down, get on eBay and search out a copy of Guilty Gear X. Or just dust down your Wii next February and buy the latest edition.
