Actor Dan Aykroyd recently sat with MTV Multiplayer (and some other people) to answer questions about the new "Ghostbusters" game. Read more...

"We discussed this with the developer [Terminal Reality]. We all thought, 'When you have ghosts would it really make sense to have cover mechanics?' Because ghosts can go through solid objects! [laughs] So it would really kind of break the fiction that the Ghostbusters world sets up. If you went with a cover mechanic, it would make it much too similar to a real type of shooter out there. So we added the other things that would make sense. Like running really fast, having a sprint that's really accessible because they're going all over the place, and dodge mechanics because [enemies] have a lot of ranged attacks."

-- Atari senior producer Garrett Moehring during a recent demo on how the Xbox 360/PS3/PC version of "Ghostbusters" is different than other third-person shooters.

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Producer: 'Ghostbusters' Game Is 'Gears of War' Lite

What did Atari do with the extra development time for "Ghostbusters"? They made the game more accessible. Here's how. Read more...

Design director Bill Roper gave us a console development update on superhero MMO "Champions Online," how it's going to compete with "DC Universe Online" and what he's hoping will happen with the "Hellgate" intellectual property. Read more...

The executive producer of "Star Trek Online" told us about the hurdles the game faces for console development and cross-platform compatibility, as well as how much they're involved with the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie. Read more...

The producer of the upcoming "Ghostbusters" Wii title gave me some details on the game and how it's similar to and different from the Xbox 360/PS3 version. Read more...

From a Washington Post story today about the state of technology in the White House, which includes outdated computer software and restrictions against instant messaging, Facebook and remote e-mail log-ins:

"It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs.

Source: Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages (password required)

[Image Credit: Alex Wong/ Getty Images]

When news broke yesterday that Atari is acquiring MMO developer Cryptic Studios, we wondered how this would affect their upcoming titles "Star Trek Online" and "Champions Online."

In a statement made to MTV Multiplayer, Cryptic's Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert said, "This deal allows Cryptic to put its full focus on both games, as opposed to trying to do that and steer the boat of [business development]... Atari has been awesome. They've made it clear that they bought Cryptic for who we are and what we do. I've asked for as much feedback as they can handle, while Atari has made it clear they trust us to make these titles great."

When we asked if it was more likely to see the company's MMOs on consoles given Atari's console background, he said, "I'm afraid I'll just need to answer this one, well, cryptically. We've built 'Champions' to run on the Xbox 360 and there's absolutely no technical limitations there. As for the PS3, we haven't announced anything."

And as for how this will affect the current publishing deal for "Champions Online," which is being published by 2K Games next year, Emmert declined to comment on those details.

"Alone in the Dark" was the subject of glowing previews but highly critical reviews.

Developers at studio Eden Games took those criticisms to heart when working on the PlayStation 3 version, and has actually implemented some of the suggestions.

"We knew we had, like, four months to work on the PS3 before we were done with that version," said game designer Emile Morel to me last week, while showing off a build of the improved PS3 version. "So we decided to make changes to improve the game and make sure this time everybody can enjoy it."

The control and interface tweaks are part of the PS3 version shipping this fall, and may later arrive as a patch for Xbox 360 users -- but it's not guaranteed.

The question is, how did Eden Games not realize some of these issues in the first place? There are a couple of reasons, Morel explained:

Read more...

Eden Games is making some much needed control, camera and inventory changes to "Alone in the Dark" before it arrives on PlayStation 3.

These changes are in direct response to criticisms of the Xbox 360 version. At the Leipzig Games Convention, Eurogamer reported news of a patch so Xbox 360 owners could enjoy the same changes.

While checking out the tweaked "Alone in the Dark" in a San Francisco hotel yesterday, game designer Emile Morel couldn't explicitly promise such a patch was coming.

"We're trying to do it," said Morel. "It's technically complicated. The size of a patch is very limited by Microsoft. So if we do a patch it would only be about the new control and the new camera."

Morel says "only" because the PS3 version also includes a new subway chase sequence that would likely be too large to include in just a mere patch.

"We can't promise it because it is still early," he said. "We are finishing this [PS3] version first. I guess it also depends on the success of this version. If people review it again and said it's not worth it..." [laughs]

Would you reconsider playing "Alone in the Dark" on Xbox 360 if Eden Games delivered the promised tweaks?

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