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 People enjoy giving the French a hard time about their cheese-loving pacifism and unhealthy obsession with huge, steel, phallic structures, but Ubisoft is all about thinking of new and creative ways to kill people. Just take a look at their upcoming games, discussed at the Ubidays event in ParisEndWar, Assassin's Creed, and Haze (among others) are all, essentially, about inflicting bodily devastation to other people. 

Ubi's latest development, a game based on the upcoming Beowulf movie, is no different. Beowulf is being developed by the GRAW team and promises to "re-invent" the hack-and-slash genre and it should be "amazing". Unfortunately, we all know that this type of rhetoric at such an early stage in the game's development isn't worth a pair fetid dingoes' kidneys. Similarly, neither are my subsequent doubts about the possibility of this being an awesome game. 

Even with Neil Gaiman's bound-to-be-excellent screenplay, movie adaptations of 1000 year old epic poetry are dodgy. When you take into account that most movie-to-game adaptions are equally dodgy ... well, that's a lot of dodge for one game. Besides, what would the player even do? In the story, Beowulf only fights three freaking enemies. Granted, he rips one of their arms off, but that can only get you so far.


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21 comments | showing # 1 to 21

William Haley's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 01:08
William Haley
"Bodily devastation" is a good phrase.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 01:16
ArrestedDeveloper
Is it sad that the main source of info I have of Beowulf comes from a Star Trek Voyager episode? Is the jabberwocky in this one or is that Through the Looking Glass?
William Haley's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 01:20
William Haley
Jabberwocky = Looking Glass
Joseph Leray's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 01:27
Joseph Leray
Beowulf, if you must know, is actually manliness incarnate.
Topher Cantler's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 01:32
Topher Cantler
HOW MANY BEOWULFS HAVE TO DIE!?!?
urbanyeti's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 02:16
urbanyeti
Yeah, he fights three bad guys in the epic poem, but they are some major badasses. One is a demon who slays armies, the second is that demon's mom who slays even more armies, and the third is a huge dragon that slays even more armies.

This game could totally go in the direction of "Shadow of the Colossus." Crawlin' all over the dragon...trying to find his gold...
beer baron's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 02:24
beer baron
13th Warrior = Beowulf
Netik09's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 02:40
Netik09
Well, I'm always up for a good hack n' slash game.
TC101's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 06:46
TC101
there was a film about beowulf recently called 'beowulf and grendel' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402057/

don't watch it tho, it's shite. they tried to turn it into and allegory for rascism. i can only hope this one doesn't go down the same route
Rockvillian's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 07:01
Rockvillian
I just want a game that allows dynamic dismemberment and adds some weight to the limbs. That's all I want, they can do whatever the hell they want to the story as long as the fighting isn't the usual "press this to do a cool move and watch them fall in a prerendered animation/limp ragdoll."
Rockvillian's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 07:02
Rockvillian
^speaking of which, someone had better do BERSERK justice in a game before I dies!
Antimat3r's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 07:29
Antimat3r
props for the grendel mention! that book was messed up ><
jimstyle's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 07:37
jimstyle
God? If you're there, it's Jim. I don't normally ask favors, but this is important. Whatever you do, please don't add a swimming level to the Beowulf game. Please? Thanks.
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 08:28
BahamutZero
I've always been more partial to Sir Gawain and The Green Night
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 08:29
BahamutZero
I mean knight. haven't had my coffee yet.
Joseph Leray's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 09:09
Joseph Leray
@Jim -- God isn't listening. Unless they totally butcher the story (which is a distinct possibility), there would have to be swimming. It's like ... 1/3 of the poem.

@BZ -- A Gawain game would be cool too.
StateofMind's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 10:40
StateofMind
Free Radical (UK) is developing Haze. Ubisoft is just publishing it, thank God.
cjpkiller's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 11:17
cjpkiller
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y8mzvUIjrLY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y8mzvUIjrLY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mzvUIjrLY
cjpkiller's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 11:18
cjpkiller
damn the html didnt work... curse you BBCode...
oh well, just use the link
brainderailment's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 15:50
brainderailment
There was a beowulf movie made a while back, didn't do so well. I hope that really cool story actually gets made into a good movie.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2007 22:05
Mxyzptlk
They should base it on the totally awesome (and I really mean horrible) sci-fi Beowulf movie staring Christopher Lambert.
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