Welcome to Beyond Co-Op, the weekly piece that looks at gaming news around the industry that may or may not related to co-op gaming. There's a few stories this week, mostly surrounding game announcements and Kickstarter - all relying on nostalgia.
-Shadowrun Returns in June
-Flashback Remake Coming Soon
-Project Eternity Engine in Action
-Next Xbox will tie into your Cable/Satelite Box
-Batman: Arkham Origins Announced
Shadowrun Returns in June
Shadowrun Returns was a Kickstarted project from the original creators of the classic RPG. It's back and looking better than ever, coming out for PC, iOS and Android sometime in June. Pre-orders go live on Steam the end of this month.
Flashback Remake Coming Soon
Flashback: The Quest for Identity was an amazing platformer, way ahead of its time when it was released on the PC in 1992. While it starts as just another game where you wake up not knowing who you are, you are quickly transported into a sci-fi world and - at the time - with graphics that were "jaw dropping." The remake is being handled by Vector Cell and published by Ubisoft.
Project Eternity Engine Video
Project Eternity is a Kickstarted CRPG from Obisidian which looks to bring the style of play of the classic Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series back from the dead. They are showing off the engine they've developed for the game and it's definitely impressive - though - not as impressive when you think everything was hand drawn back in the day and in a way - looked "almost" as good.
Next Xbox to Interact with your TV Box
The Verge is reporting that Microsoft's next Xbox will sit between your cable/tv box via a pass through HDMI connection to insert it's own overlay into the mix to give you an always on your screen solution to your entertainment. Functionality would include the ability to record programs, find programs and even use your Kinect to control the TV itself. Rumor puts the announcement of the next Xbox sometime in May.
Source: The Verge
Batman: Arkham Origins Announced
The next Batman game has been announced, making the series a yearly affair. The new game isn't being developed by Rocksteady, instead WB Montreal is taking over development duties. Details are limited but we do know it'll be a prequel to the previous games.
Source: GameInformer