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Pe L

ANDY McNAMARA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF andy@gameinformer.com

MM MM MH

Read my column or comment on this letter at

gameinformer.com/mag or follow

visit gameinformer.com daily for the latest and greatest, and follow @gameinformer on Twitter

@Gi_AndyMc

The GI Community Rules

hen we relaunched gameinformer.com W back on October 1, 2009, it felt like |

was staring into the abyss. Who or what would be there looking back at me after launch? | had 18-plus years of making magazines under my belt at the time, but this was the first time | had developed a website with real effort behind it (some longtime readers may remember Old Yellow, which was purely a labor of love we did while busting our butts to put out the magazine).

Just under two and a half years later, | could not be happier with the result. The site has been experiencing great growth, but the most impressive part is that even as we have grown our community it has continued to be one of the best on the Internet in my humble opinion (yes, in this case | am very biased). | was more than a little scared of the wrath of anonymous Internet users spamming us with hate like | see from online communities around the web, but the Game Informer community is an amazing bunch of people (thanks in no small part to our fantastic moderators).

If you don't already make it a daily destina- tion (or even better — your browser home page), you are missing out on a lot of content that complements the magazine or can be enjoyed on its own.

We have some amazing community blog- gers who impress me each day with their interesting and thoughtful takes on the video game industry. We have a weekly podcast (and sometimes Respec Radio), numerous video shows (including Replay, The Quick 15, and The Misadventures of Reiner and Phil), and all the custom content created by our video team. This includes our fantastic videos that give read- ers a chance to hear about the games straight from game developers behind our exclusive cover stories.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. We also deliver daily video game news, unique previews, DLC impressions, interviews with gaming's illu- minati, the always exciting cover reveals, editor blogs, and quick access to Game Informer's digital edition. You can even interact with the staff in our comments section or by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or YouTube.

This is just the beginning, as we have even more plans for Game Informer online, Game Informer digital, and the magazine in the coming year. So consider this an invitation to come join us and the rest of the Gl community on gameinformer.com. We'll do our best to make sure you don't regret it.

Cheers,

contents

» 56

The Last of Us

Naughty Dog is taking cinematic action games in a bold new direction by asking players to survive a post- apocalyptic cross-country journey that will change this remarkable cast of characters forever.

by Bryan Vore

regulars

») 6 Feedback

Curious as to what our reaction to review score complaints is? We've got that and plenty more sass to serve alongside as a garnish this month. Also: screaming!

» 10 Connect

If the Spike TV Video Game Awards rub you the wrong way, learn about why you should care about the peer-awarded Interactive Achievement Awards instead.

» 74 Previews

Come for the Resident Evil 6,

stay for the Street Fighter X Tekken. Along the way, why not check out PlanetSide 2, MLB 2K12, and Silent

Hill: Downpour?

Street Fighter X Tekken

» 86 Reviews

38 Studios has talked a big game about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning since

its inception. Phil breaks down how well the com- pany’s debut matches up to the promises.

by Phil Kollar

Darksiders II

» 100 Game Over Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells relates the story of how he started in the industry. It's probably not about the game you think it is.

contents 3

games index

All Zombies Must Die... 93 MV 92 Army Corps of Hell.. 95 Darkness II, Ie. 91 VANNAG ee 81 Jak and Daxter Collection ......... 94 Kid Icarus: Uprising.............. 85

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning .. . .88

了 TI l Ly H 1 III / | Major League Baseball 2K12....... 83 ITTPPELD II Mass Etech coronaria 80 NeverDead..........o.0.omom.... 92 人 96 PlanetSide AN a AA 84 Pos. 96 PU MO oras. 96 Resident Evil 6.................. 76 Silent Hill: Downpour............. 78 SoulcaliburV................... 90 Street Figher X Tekken. ........... 74 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 82 Urin A A 85 WI roaa ia s eos Duos 96 Wipeou 2048 95 Zen Pra O oio e 96

4 contents

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Contact Us feedback@gameinformer.com

Going Down To South Park How freaking excited am | about the South Park RPG? In short, really freaking excited. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always impressed me with how topical and hilarious the series has continued to be even though it started out as cardboard cutouts and fart jokes. A real, full- budget game? Heck yes.

Terry Grubham

Moscow, ID

| just wanted to say I’m looking at the South Park cover, and it is possibly the best cover of all time. It looks really good. Good job guys. That being said, Skyrim should have gotten a 9.75. Good day, gentiemen. Luis Ramos Miami, FL

Guess you can’t win them all, as this next pair of letters aptly demonstrates...

The Life Of A Reviewer | was upset with the ratings of this year's big- gest titles. This holiday season by far has had the best titles come out and many of these great games (Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations, and Skyrim) have all received poor ratings. The men and women who made these titles possible worked extremely hard on them with their best ideas and every thing else. Shouldn't these titles deserve a much better score? At least better than 9.5, as well as the low blow of 8.75 for ACR? Jaime Fort Worth, TX

Hello. | would like to talk about Saints Row: The Third. Why did you give it a 9 when everybody is saying that it sucks? | mean really, if the game is that bad why write a review about it? For real, my friend Dewayne says it doesn't suck, but we don't listen to him. You guys should have reviews from real people. Change it! Lyne Southfield, MI

This month we received angry letters informing us that our reviews for Modern Warfare 3, Minecraft, and Skyrim were

all too low and too high. We mock ornery readers for assuming that their opinions are closer to some imaginary objective standard of quality, but that doesn't stop more from writing in to tell us how our per- sonal enjoyment (or lack thereof) of a game is somehow incorrect. Save your breath, folks, and be more like this young mother from Anaheim.

An Opinion Worth Sharing

Every time | see a letter complaining about

your review scores | just shake my head. As a 28-year-old single mother, | don't have nearly as much time as | used to for playing video games. While | read reviews to gauge the general reac- tion to a game - basically to see if the response is mostly positive or mostly negative — | do not take reviews as anything other than another person's opinion. Because that's what they are. Quibbling over half a point before a game has even come out, like Karim's response to your Uncharted 3 review (A Fantastic Fanalic, issue

225), is just juvenile. The truth is, while | peruse your reviews of games that interest me, | read Game Informer for the plethora of other informa- tive articles you guys publish. Bethany Anaheim, CA

Congratulations, Bethany. You are doing it right.

War Of The Mind | just wanted to thank you guys for the Advanced Tactics article in issue 225. It's good to know that there are still military shooters that take skill and strategy to play. But what about Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway? Personally, | thought that game really required strategy to get through the campaign, and above all, it was based on a true story. Not only did it have an amazing campaign, you also felt a strong connection to Staff Sergeant Baker and all of the conflicts he went through.

Tyler Wells

via email

| just wanted to say that | loved the Advanced Tactics article. The little piece about America's Army is definitely true. Long story short, my mom accidentally cut an artery in her arm, and thanks to America's Army, | put a tourniquet on, stopped the bleeding, and basically saved her hand and possibly life. The doctor said if | wasn't there and didn't do what | did, things would have gone a lot worse for her. I'm glad | sat through all the long boring lectures in America's Army now! Sean McLaverty via email

There you have it, kids. Playing video games saves lives.

0

I'm writing in regards to issue 225's Top Ten Assassins list,

because it had Mega Man on it. While | realize this is a

joke and that the entire description should not be taken

seriously, | don't think you should joke around when you

look like you have no idea what you're talking about. A

lot of die hard Mega Man fans are going to complain,

and a lot of new Mega Man players are going to get the

game thinking he's an assassin. Just clearing things up. Garrett Schneider

via email

Who was joking? What else would you call a skilled war- rior whose sole reason for living is to systematically track down and murder unsuspecting sentient beings? Face it, the Blue Bomber is essentially the Terminator, only with fewer poorly enunciated one-liners and a bitchin' arm cannon.

"people and their game systems. what is their prob."

Exactly! "1-10: How bad does Ben smell?"

Depends on whether a 10 is really good or really bad.

"Where can | get a sense of humor like ya'll?”

Check your local middle school.

“Your review for Sonic Generations sucks ass and | hope you all burn in hell."

Ending an argument with the term “just sayin'" is now offi- cially passé. Just sayin’.

(Left) For some reason Ben's instinctual response to seeing a statue is to point at its crotch and laugh. (Right) It took the entire Darksiders Il team at Vigil Games to hold up Death's sword, but it was totally worth it.

continued on page 8

feedback 7

12222222221 E Review Rants 69%

n Readers Calling Out Other Readers For Complaining About Reviews 14%

Bil Kids Complaining About Mature Content In Games They Want 11%

W Pictures of Children Reading Gl While Potty Training 4%

E Letters Pointing Out The Creases In Matt Stone And Trey Parker's Shirts 2%

What's the best reward you've ever gotten in a video game, and why?

J...... LT ZIELE ĩnll aaa a IDE ]—? «?)] r?[kd a a m .,..

ntinued from page (Left) Adam, Ben Reeves, and Ben Hanson were all smiles when meeting the XCOM team at Firaxis. Well, except for Reeves, who was more of a disturbing smirk. (Right) The team also met with strategy designer extraordinaire Sid Meier.

\ EX ctations

In issue 225, we asked readers whether their most anticipated holiday game lived up to their expectations, and the results were resoundingly positive. Here are some of the answers we received.

Having never enjoyed or purchased a mili- tary FPS in my life, | am quite surprised that Battlefield 3 has cast such a captivating spell over me. One release day purchase later, DICE has earned itself a fan for life. The multiplayer, the Frostbite 2 engine, the co-op, and even the much-criticized campaign earn BF 3 a near daily spot in my PS3 queue. Way to make this gamer feel like a soldier, you Swedish wizards!

Daniel Canal

Modem Warfare 3 absolutely lived up to my expectations. The gameplay is smooth and fast, the Survival mode is very enjoyable, and the gun customization is great.

Zachary Priesing

Did Skyrim live up to my expectations? Hell, no. It Karate-chopped their heads off with kick-ass ninja explosions. So much better than | thought. ha Although it does have its downs (like wonky 3 animations and some weird voice transitions and mechanics), it totally makes up for that with 3 e 18 le ref o even think about tou 1 extraordinary storytelling (Dark Brotherhood for complete] sed his nreindice that COD is ridina its own wave example — holy crap, right?), great atmosphere, À i and just overall excitement.

Tece! Y ATC Moder) Warfare ma c

Grif Williams

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{f a! $ à y ty N y t

—— —

| have no mouth, and | must scream.

| Scream, You Scream | just wanted to tell you how much | enjoyed your story on | Have no Mouth, and | Must Scream (Classic Gl, issue 225). Not to sound like an oblivious jerk, but | usually skim through the Classic section. Not this time. | pored over every single detail, and really enjoyed it. | adore short stories and it was really interesting to read about one being tumed into a game, especially one | was too young to enjoy myself. | was absolutely intrigued by it.

Ivalon Wells

via email

| loved the | Have no Mouth, and | Must Scream article. | discovered the short story about a year ago and spent hours creepily stalking any information | could find on it, which led me to the video game. | just love the premise, which focuses on something deep and entirely different from anything else. The article reminded me of it, and now | just want to reread the story. Elaria Santa Ana, CA

| just read the | Have No Mouth, and | Must Scream Classic story. | wanted to thank you guys for introducing me to a very fascinating story that | have never heard before until now. It piqued my curiosity and imagination as to the endless possibilities that can occur as a result of “controlled” warfare gone wrong.

Christian Hensley

via email

"WINNER 1 Zach

Raw Apparently we missed the super-sweet flaming blue sword upgrade in Skyward Sword

2 Kevin Lingenfelser If this is to be believed, either a Big Daddy is in the sky or a crazy bird monster is in the sea. We don't like either scenario.

3 Charles Atkins Based

on his facial expression, that chimp's life hasn't been quite as hard as Snake's. 4 Dominic Higginbottom Ezio had to take out the previous guest char- acters to earn his roster spot in Soulcalibur V.

CORRECTIONS: In our Resident Evil: Revelations review, we accidentally stated the game takes place after Resident Evil 5. In actuality, it takes place between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.

In our Classic Gl feature on console launches (issue 226), we incorrectly stated info about the Atari 7800. Midwest Gaming Classic co-founder Martin Goldberg says that the system actually came out in January 1986 after Atari Corps.' Jack Tramiel negotiated with 7800 rights owners Warner Communications. The system came out with

11 titles: Centipede, Asteroids, Dig Dug, Food Fight, Galaga, Joust, Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position II, Robotron: 2084, Xevious, and Desert Falcon. Accordingly, the 7800's letter grade is a C.

Enter the Game Informer Reader Art Contest. All you need to do is draw, paint, scratch, spit, or carve the best dam art you can think of and send it to us. Please include your name, phone number, and return address. If you're the monthly winner, we'll feature your work in

Gl and you'll receive a video game prize from the Game Informer vault, All entries become the property of Game Informer and can't

be returned.

Send to Game Informer Reader Art Contest 724 1st St N.,

3rd Floor

Mpls, MN 55401

VJ... — A AA ds AA AMMA ddd . . ] «] ddd . Ü.]...

(Left) Gl ran into plenty of friendly faces at this year's CES, including Airtight

Games' Kim Swift and Mark Pottorf, and SweetLabs Aaron VanWart. (Inset) Also in attendance were Fortyseven Communications' Sibel Sunar and Gamefly's Ryh-Ming Poon. (Center) Things got a little crazy when Yoshinori Ono, Tomoaki Ayano, and Dan Pantumsinchai stopped by to show Jason and Dan Street Fighter X Tekken. Watch the video at gameinformer.com. (Right) You thought we were kidding about Ben, didn't you? We weren't.

feedback

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Did the Spike VGAS

leave you yeaming for a more serious approach to video game award shows? Check out the

15th annual Interactive

of Video Games cnm

connect 11

12

For the general public, the

are the most prominent indus- try award show. This annual spectacle has the brightest lights, the loudest music, the biggest stars, and airtime on a major cable television network. But sometimes amongst the pomp and pageantry of celebrity skits, preview trailers for upcoming titles, and musical performances, the show cre- ators seem to forget why the VGA's exists in the first place — to celebrate the best games of the year. This past year, many of the award presentations and acceptance speeches weren't

even televised.

that separates the IAAs from the Spike VGAs,

which are decided upon by a group of journ: and public voters. AIAS president Martin Rae considers the Oscars comparison reasonable, saying, “I think it’s fair to say that absolutely our goal is to be the preeminent vehicle for individuals in our industry and for titles in our industry."

According to Rae, the similarities between the IAAs and the Oscars expand beyond the peer review process. "It's not a popularity contest or a consumer-driven contest," Rae says the award recipients are not necessarily the best-selling or most financially successful

games of the year, but rather the ones that the industry fee the most innovative and moved the mediun Ser to being widely con- sidered a form of artistic entertainment.

"| think it's very important from a historical and contemporary perspective to recognize talent and great achievement in an artistic industry, and it becomes historically relevant as your industry grows and matures," Rae says. "Wi a pretty young industry from that per- spective, but if you look back and you look at the history of the motion picture academy and

ACADEMY OF 'NTERACTIVE

INTERAG ARTS & 5

CIENCES

on the academy's board of direc

believes the awards are critical to showing the rest of the world how far the interactive enter- tainment industry has come.

"Our goal is to demonstrate clearly why games hold their own against and surpass, in many cases, other forms of entertainment when it comes to an art form," he "The academy exists to recognize the amazing cre- ativity that goes into games of all types and to

Building for the Future

With the rise of mobile and social gaming, the interactive entertainment landscape has shifted drastically over the past few years, and a new demographic has emerged. For AIAS board members like Rich Hilleman this is an exciting new development that requires their attention. “From my perspective, when nine out of ten of the players in your business are new in the last several years, there are some new obligations to helping your players under- stand what good and great looks like, and be empathetic and articulate about their needs not just the needs of the traditional core gamer," he said. To recognize these emerging markets, the board has expanded the IAAS over the past few years to include categories for casual games,

who they

DENNY THORLEY is

ognize and why they've recog nized them, and the historical archive they've

Double Fine. He now works with Capcom, and

help promote them to not only the industry, but to the rest of the world."

and later founded Storm- front Studios, creators

social networking games, and

mobile games.

SHUHEI ZACK KARLSSON Daglow has a long DON JAMES has YOSHIDA is the senior was a member of the history with video games been with Nintendo of vice president of product board for three years being heavily involved America for over 20 development for Sony while working with with companies like EA, years and had a hand in Computer Entertainment. Namco Bandai and Broderbund, Intellivision, the creation of the ESRB

rating system.

the president of develop- is no longer a member of of Neverwinter Nights PATRICIA VANCE ment Day 1 Studios, the the board. and Stronghold. is the president of the studio best known for the ESRB, the entertain- MechAssault games and MICHAEL MARTIN RAE is the ment software and most recently FEAR. 3. GALLAGHER is the presi- president of the Academy ratings board. dent of the Entertainment and previously served

RICH HILLEMAN is Software Association. as CEO of Boss Game MIKE CAPPS is the chief creative director Studios. This studio the president of Epic at Electronic Arts. His TED PRICE is the released many titles for Games, the developer department at EA is president and CEO of the Nintendo 64. behind Gears of War and the primary corporate Insomniac Games. He's Unreal Engine. support mechanism in charge of the studio's TIM for new hardware and hits through every con- CAMPBELL of Game- CHRISTIAN software platforms. He is sole generation, including ^ forge, makers of many SVENSSON is the best known, however, for Spyro the Dragon, browser-based games. corporate officer and vice creating the Madden NFL Ratchet and Clank, and president of strategic series with Scott Orr. the Resistance series. KEN LOBB is the planning & business

creative director for development at Capcom,

JAY COHEN is the DON DAGLOW is Microsoft Game Studios the publisher behind president of development no longer a member of and helped to produce games like Mega Man for Jerry Bruckheimer the Board of Directors. games like Fable and the and Street Fighter. Games and formerly Instead he is part of the original Crackdown of Ubisoft. AIAS Foundation board.

SETH LADD of Google and a member of the Google Chrome team. Ladd helped bring Angry Birds to the web.

FRANK PEARCE is the executive vice president of product development for Blizzard Entertain- ment, Inc., the develop- ers of World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

TERRANCE MYERS

isn't on the board of directors, but he is the executive producer of the Interactive Achieve- ment Awards, and has a history of working in film production with the likes of Ben Stiller and other prominent producers.

connect 13

Broadening Horizons

Electronic Arts chief creative officer Rich Hilleman, one of the men directly responsible for the creation of the Madden Football franchise, believes the impact of the AIAS goes beyond the award process. ^| think that we were, and continue to be, one of the most articulate voices about the craft that is interactive entertainment creation," he says. "We've contributed

a lot in ways that are non- tangible, things like the computer history museum, to forums on interactive entertainment in places like Germany and in Shinyang, China last year."

AIAS has also made tangible contributions to the industry by creating two different scholarships. The Randy Pausch Scholar- ship fund was created in honor of Dr. Pausch, who was a co-founder of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. This scholarship is awarded to students interested in pursuing a degree in the development of interactive entertainment. AIAS also helped found the Mark Beaumont scholarship fund, which is awarded to students specializing in the business side of interac- live entertainment. The Beamont scholarship was created in memory of Mark Beaumont, a former COO

of Capcom North America and Europe.

AIAS also worked with the ESA to create Into the Pixel, an annual art show that cel- ebrates the art of computer and video games by giving awards to the best pieces of art produced by the video game industry.

1998

GoldeneEye 007

14

The Peer Process For board members like Price, this is a labor of ove. The AIAS is a non-profit organization whose output is based purely on the volunteer efforts of ts members. Members of the industry become nvolved because they want video games to be egitimized as an art form

“Ours is a very peer-driven process, and it relates much more to and goes back to the people who make games, and when you have peers awarding peers in a process | don't think you can have a better award," Rae says.

Board member Denny Thorley agrees. "There s certainly a place for the other awards and they do a good job and it's great, and they help us all in the industry, but there is something to be said by being recognized by your peers in the ndustry,” he said

For a game to be eligible for an IAA, first a publisher must submit its games for consid eration. For each award category, a group of volunteer peers is assembled to discuss the pos- sible candidates. If it's a craft discipline award, ike gameplay engineering, then the peers must have some level of expertise in that field. If it's a genre award, then the peers of that group must

ac A awe’

, co-foünder CEO) and president of I re (makers of Borderlands] on the Interactive Achievement Awards Ted carpet

1999

The Legend of Zelda:

2000

The Sims

Ocarina of Time

have expertise in that genre. For example, all the members of the peer group selected to decide nominees for the action game category have either worked on, or are currently working on, action games.

A publisher or developer must be a member of the AIAS in order to submit a game. However, here is a write-in system that allows for games that were not initially submitted to be considered. n 2010, Take-Two Interactive was not a member of the academy, a little game it published called Red Dead Redemption ended up taking home ive awards through the write-in process -~ more than any other game that year.

Once the list of games is finalized, the peer groups must play all of the games. Afterwards, hey meet to discuss which games should be eligible for voting. When all the candidates have been decided, AIAS members vote through a secure online ballot. All the games considered for any award are also eligible to receive the Game of the Year award.

A Show for All Tastes

The video game industry has grown to a point where are there are a number of different awards

2001

Diablo II

2002

Halo: Combat Evolved

shows that can appeal to any kind of gamer. The VGAs lend a sense of Hollywood importance and excitement to video games by creating a show focused on entertainment and first-look trailers of upcoming games, while the [AAs approach the awards with a sense of gravitas and critical mportance necessary to elevate the medium in discussions of artistic entertainment expression.

"Anything that increases the exposure and accomplishments of the industry is good for the business," says Terrance Myers, executive pro ducer of the IAA award show.

Board member Rich Hilleman agrees. "The customer-oriented awards are an important expression that you really want to hear, and | know that when people win those they know t's the product of customers speaking their minds about what they think is great," he said. However, he still feels strongest about the clout behind the IAAs, saying, “We seem to be the one that people talk about the most when they win. At the end of the day, we represent the crafts people love, what our business believes are the best of the best, and that's usually a specia responsibility that's a little different than those other guys." 6

2003

Battlefield 1942

2004

Call of Duty

CALL DUTY Cn x

Jay Mohr hosting the 13th 10 Interactive ont Awards

The Interactive Achieve- ment Awards is the most high-profile event of the DICE summit, but many

of the industry's best

and brightest creators

use the conference as

an opportunity to mingle and talk shop with their fellow creators. "When

I'm at DICE, | forget that

| belong to Sony or work on PS3, or any of those things," said Shuhei Yoshi- da, senior vice president of product development for Sony Computer Entertain- ment. "There is much less business talk or PR talk or new product introduction. There are very few of these [discussions]; it's more focused on the fore- front of creative thinking." The DICE summit also hosts impressive keynote speakers every year.

This year, developers like David Jaffe (Twisted Metal, God of War), Tomonobu Itagaki (Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden), and Todd Howard (Fallout 3, Skyrim) will all speak at the event. The Academy also likes

e i a i to bring in non-gaming | N 2 [ a C 图 speakers like film director

Gore Verbinski (Pirates

M m Y of the Carribean, Rango) ad he | e Ve e N to give the attendees new perspective on the creative process. " In the near future, the 10 AIAS hopes to increase — 二 its prevalence globally by

extending the DICE sum- mit into areas like Asia ale iinet and Europe.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Half-Life 2 God of War Gears of War Call of Duty 4: LittleBigPlanet Uncharted 2: Mass Effect 2 Modern Warfare Among Thieves

Playstation.

a N) a | £ 7 rae s c QE S 和 m Mi ^ P E B Foon A

connect

MMO Rights

he two companies have reached a settlement

that cancels Interplay's previous licensing of a

Fallout MMO (as well as no claim to the brand

or any future games), with those rights revert-

ing back to Bethesda. Interplay will be permit- led, however, to sell the PC versions of Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics through December 2013 (after which lime the rights become Bethesda's), as well as receive $2 million from Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media. Each company is responsible for its own legal costs for this battle that has been ongoing even before Bethesda filed its initial complaint against Interplay in 2009.

Interplay published and developed the original Fallout title back in 1997, and multiple titles in the series appeared from various development houses through the years. But despite owning such beloved franchises as Fallout and Baldur's Gate, as well as in-house developer Black Isle Studios (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment), the company was in such a perilous financial state that in 2002 NASDAQ delisted Interplay's shares. In 2003 Interplay closed Black Isle. The developer was working on Fallout 3, but the rights to that game (along with the permission to make sequels) were sold to Bethesda in 2004, which started over on the game from scratch.

In 2007 Bethesda signed a deal with Interplay to attain the rights to the Fallout IP itself for $5.75 million, and in a role reversal, Interplay then turned around and licensed the rights from Bethesda to make a Fallout MMO. However, the deal contained provisions that would later become sticking points between the two companies: Interplay was required to begin "full-scale" development by April 2009, the MMO had to have at least $30 million in secured financing, and the company had to deliver the game within four years of the start of development.

If any of these conditions were not met the rights to the Fallout MMO would revert back to Bethesda.

In 2009 Bethesda filed a legal complaint stating that Interplay had not met the first two stipulations of the con- lract, and wanted the agreement for the MMO voided and work on the title stopped. Bethesda also sued Masthead Studios — the developer Interplay hired to work on the MMO - saying that under the terms of the agreement Bethesda had to approve any sublicensing agreements (in this case to Masthead), which it says it never did.

Bethesda Softworks may have purchased the rights to the Fallout franchise from original creators Interplay in 2007, but it's been anything but a simple transaction. Both companies have been in a legal battle over a proposed Fallout MMO and the series' back catalog that Started almost the moment the ink on the contract dried. Now the entire legal saga has been resolved, leaving Bethesda with sole possession of a Fallout MMO.

Furthermore, Bethesda's lawsuit wanted to block the sale of Interplay's Fallout Trilogy (Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics), stating that Bethesda never approved that packaging and other marketing materials related to the product. The company claimed that this caused confusion among consumers between the Fallout Trilogy and Bethesda's Fallout 3. Bethesda also objected to Interplay's licensing agreements with digital distribution Sites such as Steam and GOG.com.

Although Interplay initially tabbed the Fallout MMO's budget at $75 million, by 2009 the company was in a dire financial state. Regardless, it claimed it had not defaulted on the MMO's $30 million funding stipulation. It had started work on the Fallout MMO, and although Interplay claimed it had hundreds of pages of design documents, a playable demo, and released assets from the game in 2010, Bethesda was steadfast in its belief that Interplay had breached its contract.

Interplay fired back with its own lawsuit against Bethesda arguing that Interplay had not defaulted on its obligations, and charging that Bethesda was conspiring lo strip Interplay of its contractual right to make the Fallout MMO and give it to ZeniMax Online, which was formed in 2007 — months after Interplay and Bethesda's agreement.

Bethesda later amended its suit in 2010 to claim that Interplay had only licensed the name “Fallout” and not any assets, settings, storylines, etc. associated with the universe such as the Vault Boy icon or its characters, a move which Interplay called "absurd." In a court filing, Interplay claimed that in the years prior to amending the suit, Bethesda knew that the MMO used assets from the Fallout universe, but said nothing about it at the time "because it knew Interplay was doing exactly what the parties intended under their agreements."

Although the courts delivered some setbacks to Bethesda's efforts to stop Interplay and Masthead's work on the game last year, this settlement seems like a clear win for Bethesda. The company gets the rights to a Fallout MMO, Interplay can't sell older titles in the fran- chise after 2013, and Interplay has no claim to any part of the Fallout brand and its games. These are things that Bethesda has wanted all along.

As for Interplay, the right to sell its Fallout titles for the time being should be a key pillar in keeping the com- pany afloat. It's currently re-releas- ing some of its legacy titles such as Descent on platforms like WiiWare, digitally distributing games from indie developers via its Interplay Discovery program, and plans to release Battle Chess later this year. The company has previously stated that it intended to make sequels to franchises such as MDK, Dark Alliance, and Descent, but that was at a time when it expected revenue from the Fallout MMO.

What Bethesda plans to do with its newly acquired rights to a Fallout MMO is unknown. An Elder Scrolls MMO has been rumored for years, but anything the company may be working on has been kept tightly under wraps. Then again, it seems unlikely that Bethesda's parent company would create a division called ZeniMax Online and obtain $300 million in funding from Providence Equity Partners with one of the stated goals being to "finance massively multiplayer online games" and not make an MMO. Perhaps it's just a matter of which one comes first, Elder Scrolls or Fallout.