I was really disappointed this week when a rumor appeared out of nowhere, claiming that Pandemic Studios, only recently purchased by EA, was closing down. Creators of the ever popular Mercenaries, Destroy All Humans, and upcoming The Saboteur, the Los Angeles-based company has always been famous for its wide open-worlds and fully destructible environments; partly the reason I loved them so. EA eventually confirmed that yes, they were in fact shutting the studio down. A DAMNED SHAME.
An anonymous poster on NeoGaf had this to say:
"The reason why the studio closed down has everything to do with the existing Pandemic management. From what we were told, Pandemic management was given free reign to do as they please. Time and time again, they dropped the ball with bad decisions (promoting/keeping people based on loyalty, no production accountability, mis-allocation of resources, poor milestone objectives, no mentoring, etc.). It's a true shame, as there was a lot of talent and passion at the studio."
Above is a video of some former employees reenacting one dandy scene from Office Space, a film that I never finished. I find the situation all the more unfortunate because of The Saboteur - a game that looked especially fantastic, enough so to wash away the bad memories from Mercenaries 2 and Lord of the Rings Conquest. The same NeoGaf poster seems to agree:
"One more thing I will say: EA is totally sending Saboteur out to die. And it's a f*cking shame. It's easily Pandemic's best game yet. Of course, I am a bit biased having worked on the game for so long. If you were disappointed with Mercs2 and LOTR (who wasn't) and enjoyed previous Pandemic games, give Saboteur a shot."
I also picked up physicals of The Fame Monster and Rated R today. I almost bought Susan Boyle's debut ("LOL!"), but I figured she didn't need the help; she's literally kicking everyone else's asses when it comes to sales. I also had Shakira's latest pre-ordered from a while back, so that came in... although I've technically "had" She Wolf and Rated R for weeks now. I actually held back on 'Monster', though. I wanted to be surprised. Speaking of surprises, I'll have reviews of "Rated R" and "Monster" up this week, fo real. I'm feeling super inspired after the Dragonette review, so it'll be no problem shipping those puppies out.
(Right click and save. It's just pretty, okay?)
Also, BLACK FRIDAY shopping, AHH! I'm kind of excited for it this year - I'll be picking up some games this weekend for sure. Gamestop is running a "Buy 2, get 1 free" deal, of which I'll be partaking. I feel like it's alright, because I've polished off several games I never finished recently, and I don't have anything better to spend/save my money on/for. Makes sense, no?
And, for my final random thought - my legs hurt so badly right now. I'll try and sum it up briefly: I run compulsively, about 4-5 miles virtually every day of the week. I generally go during the late afternoon, but I decided to wake up extra early and try going way farther than I usually do. Push it to the limit, you know? I am paying right now: it felt like I had fucking bricks tied to my legs the whole time, and I still went a couple miles more than I usually do. Aye carumba...
Picture is from Vogue Russia.