The famous side-scrolling shooter R-Type III has been released for the Game Boy Advance in the US. This is the first game developed by Raylight since they made Prophecy Advance last year. I wasn't much into the R-Type games when they were new, so I'll be excited to pick this one up later today. It's great simple fun.
This didn't come as a huge surprise, but Electronic Arts has announced that it will be shutting down Earth and Beyond this fall. E&B began as a Westwood Studios massively multiplayer space sim in the late 1990s. It was further along in development in 2000, so EA chose to cancel Privateer Online to avoid having two similar massively multiplayer games launching together. With Westwood shut down and Origin closing next month, the remnants of both developers will be in California at the central EA headquarters. Elements of the E&B team are likely to take up Ultima X Odyssey development. Jumpgate, the game once considered a possible licensee for the Privateer Online spaceflight engine, is offering amnesty to displaced Earth & Beyond players. You can mail in your old E&B disc to get a one month free trial.
Earth & Beyond Says Goodbye^Death_ just recently went to a Jumpgate fan gathering. You can find some of the pictures here. Last September Earth & Beyond held a number of birthday parties around the US to celebrate its first year. It's kind of sad to see this one go so soon, but it's not the first EA massively multiplayer title to not pan out.
Starting September 22, 2004, Earth & Beyond will no longer be in service. After an amazing two years of galactic adventure, Electronic Arts has made the decision to close Earth & Beyond in order to focus resources on future games.
Follow or Contact Us