Battlestar Galactica game bound for XBLA, PC

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Feb 9th 2007 at 8:30PM }

The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reports that a new partnership between NBC Universal and Vivendi's Sierra Online division will yield a digitally distributed Battlestar Galactica game. The space shooter (you know, a shooter ... but in space) is expected to be completed this fall, after which it will be promptly shot in the head to initiate the download onto your PC or your Xbox 360. Australia-based Auran Games has been named as the developer, though its history of railroad simulations makes it hard to gauge whether it'll be able to do the modern television series justice. Can anyone?

"We wanted to bring a more intense combat experience to gamers," explains NBC Universal's Bill Kispert. "From a story standpoint, fans will be able to relive key battles from the first two seasons of the show, and then we'll add new content and missions outside of that." The overarching plan is to continuously inject new challenges into the game, much in line with the episodic nature of the show itself. Kispert (who sounds more like a snack than a Cylon) also notes that Sierra Online has paid a visit to the show's sets and hopes to incorporate everything from sound effects to pilot chatter.

Given the fracking hole currently residing in the spot where the space sim genre used to be, we're eminently open to the idea of piloting Vipers and Cylon Raiders in an all-out, Xbox Live dogfight. Let's just hope nobody at Sierra Online makes the obvious, in-game advertising connection. "Thanks for saving my six, Starbucks! I can always count on your finely roasted skills." (We spent nine hours developing that joke. FACT.)

[Via CVG]

Tags: Auron Games, AuronGames, Battlestar Galactica, BattlestarGalactica, MSFT, XBLA, Xbox Live Arcade, XboxLiveArcade

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

obo @ Feb 9th 2007 8:41PM

Maybe they'll get around to releasing it this time.

Anonymous Coward @ Jul 21st 2007 3:50PM

In the meantime: http://www.game-warden.com/bsg/

I hope the PC version of the official game is more "simmy" like Freespace or X-Wing than it is for the 360 version. My Saitek X52 joystick and HOTAS is getting really dusty. :P

Andrew Fong @ Feb 9th 2007 9:10PM

The episodic nature of it is cool -- just goes to show all the time and effort in developing the Live backend and business model is paying off (and likewise, into developing PC equivalents such as Steam).

I think it'd be cool if the game were to explore a lot of deeper issues in the series (e.g. what IS the Cylon plan? Who is God?) and run concurrently with the show. That said, I think I'm going to be a little disappointed. It looks like they're just going to release a downloadable update to re-enact a battle that looked much cooler on the show.

Brick the Wulf @ Feb 9th 2007 9:12PM

Link to official site:

http://www.bsgarcade.com/index.html

mark @ Feb 9th 2007 9:34PM

Amazing show, most likely going to be a subpar game. D:

David @ Feb 9th 2007 10:32PM

Maybe they should kick the ass of someone at the Sci-fi Channel to pick the show up for a fourth season instead of making a shity game.

aaron @ Feb 9th 2007 10:55PM

"Maybe they should kick the ass of someone at the Sci-fi Channel to pick the show up for a fourth season instead of making a shity game."

That's what happens when you have a woman (Bonnie Hammer) in charge of sci-fi programming. On the other hand, she has made them A LOT of money...

t_m @ Feb 10th 2007 6:55AM

the concept is great.. and things like xbox live and wii channels could be great sources of episodic content. (though i'd rather have a subscription than micropayments).

But i don't really hold out much hope for something called "bsg ARCADE" t be muchmore than a mindless blaster.

We really need some decent online space SIMS, with decent AI, tactics and story...