The Grinder

[Dante]

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/986/986674/e3-2009the-grinder-20090526041955562_640w.jpg

Yesterday IGN exclusively unveiled High Voltage Software's new Wii title, Gladiator A.D., a very promising 3D fighter that pushes Nintendo's hardware where graphics are concerned. Today, though, we've got a special treat that we think fans of the Left 4 Dead series are simply going to love. It's called The Grinder and it's a blood-drenched first-person shooter designed to accommodate four-player online cooperative action. This title looks absolutely phenomenal, as you're going to see below. Rather than spoil any more details, we've let the developer do the talking. Below, HVS CEO and founder Kerry Ganofsky, chief creative officer Eric Nofsinger and lead art director Matt Corso tell all about The Grinder. We think you're going to want to move this extraordinary Wii-exclusive to the tops of your must-have lists.

- 4 player online co op
- motion plus support
- swords and guns
- wii speak support



The Grinder looks amazing. It reminds us a little bit of one of your earlier games, Hunter: The Reckoning. Is there any relation or are there any influences here?

Kerry J. Ganofsky: Thanks! We are extremely proud of how the game is coming together. We have worked on a number of games throughout our 16-year history and we do draw from them in different ways. A major vision point of this project was to present traditional monsters in new and interesting ways.

Matt Corso: Yes actually. Now that you mention it The Grinder does resemble Hunter just a bit. [Smiles] I happened to be the lead artist on the Hunter Xbox games many full moons ago, and Eric was my Art Director at the time. There are also a few other team members from the Art, Design, and Programming departments that also worked on the original Hunter games. The Grinder is our chance to improve upon the work that we did back in the old days. There are a lot of influences throughout The Grinder's design from the original Hunter games, but there are also many combined years worth of game development experience, and a fully matured technology foundation, to take this game well beyond anything that we ever could have accomplished back in those days.

Eric Nofsinger: I can't tell you how excited we are to be sharing The Grinder with you! We've been playing a lot of Left 4 Dead and there really isn't that kind of frantic cooperative experience on the Wii right now. There's certainly nothing that takes advantage of the Wii hardware the way we are able to with our engine. One thing that we learned from working on the Hunter series is that we'd prefer to feel like badasses who are suiting up to go out and slay monsters. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for enemies, weapons, characters and story.

Tell us about the storyline. Is it intentionally over-the-top?

Eric: I don't want to give too much away right now, but the game takes place in a world we've imagined where monsters are real. Vampires, werewolves, and undead are all a part of everyday life and this world has adapted to their presence. Our group of heroes is a sort of the cryptobiological A-Team of going into areas with infestations and killing everything that moves. We've definitely been influenced by lots of great horror movies and the grindhouse style is something we've tried to incorporate into our characters and storyline.

Kerry: Each of our monster exterminators has been called into action by a secretive contact known only as Book. Your job is to exterminate the monster threat and to discover the reason for the recent monster outbreak. As to whether it is over-the-top, I will let the gamers answer that, I like to think of it as just plain fun.

Matt: There's no point in trying to be subtle when telling a story about a team of freelance hunters that ruthlessly exterminate savage armies of bloodthirsty monsters. We want our characters and storyline to be memorable, so you can expect to witness events and creatures that you never thought a developer could be twisted enough to intentionally create.

IGN: You can play as four selectable characters. Who are they? Do they have different attributes?

Eric: Hector, Doc, AJ, and Miko all have different backgrounds that provide them with special skill sets. Hector is a bounty hunter who has tracked targets on both sides of the border. Doc wants to figure out what makes the monsters tick. AJ is an urban explorer who had a very bad experience and is looking for revenge. Miko is an assassin looking for a new challenge. They all bring something special to the table in terms of gameplay.

Kerry: Each character has different strengths and weaknesses, but none are useless. They each also feature their own signature weapons which define who they are.

Hector is boastful, arrogant and greedy. He used to be a professional hunter, but has pissed so many people off over the years that he can't land a job with any of the professional companies any more.

AJ is the sole survivor of a Slasher attack. She knows that it's only a matter of time before the unkillable monster that slaughtered her sorority sisters on a weekend camping trip catches up with her to finish the job.

Doc was a hunter for years but he left the life behind years ago when a mission went very badly. Since then, he's been working as an underground doctor.

Miko is a Japanese assassin. She was getting bored with her job, until the night one of her targets turned out to be a Werewolf. Despite nearly getting killed, she found the battle exhilarating and immediately set out to take down more monsters.

Matt: We've lovingly crafted four new characters to throw into the meat grinder. It's all very dramatic stuff, and fortunately, the player gets to benefit from the entertainment value of their personal tragedies. We've worked elements of each hunter's past, into their in-game story and individual skill set. Every character in The Grinder is worth playing through the game with, just to take advantage of their unique abilities.

More infromation can be found here. (http://wii.ign.com/articles/986/986663p2.html)

http://i43.tinypic.com/kb3b6r.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/t6ut09.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/30ry82s.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/65wggm.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/2ugnymr.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/j76u5z.jpg

[Shino]

Looks amazing! And 4 player co-op? On my Wii? I'm impressed.

[Nolan]

I'm liking the idead of this. Did you check out the music samples? Just great. Finished reading all the of the interview. Fuck The Conduit I want The Grinder.

The conduit looks decent, but this just sounds freaking awesome.

[Pit-Jr]

Wow these guys are really stepping up to the plate in a way that not even Nintendo themselves seem willing to do. 3 inspired new IP's from a smaller developer with (as far as i know) no dedicated publisher. Impressive!

[david.dakota]

Excellent work. I wasn't too taken by Gladiator, but this is right up my street.

High Voltage... You're fucking great.

[kav82]

This is freakin' awesome! HVS really are setting out to do what I've wanted from my Wii since day one!

The thing that has really impressed me about them is that they really do listen to gamers feedback and impressions, then look how to impliment the feedback into the games... this is what I want to see from developers!

This has hit my radar big-time!

[Ganepark32]

Hell yeh! I think like many, Gladiator AD doesn't appeal to me at the moment, I'd still really like to see more of it and see how it plays, but this is totally up my street. I love Left 4 Dead and if this can go some way to recreating that on the Wii, then it's already on its way to win. And with 4 player online co-op..... yeh this is going to be awesome.

[Goron_3]

Right have to admit I'm really impressed with this :D

Not sure how much their titles are gonna sell but here's to em doing well!

[Fierce_LiNk]

27th May 2009. Not only is today the day of the Champions League Final, but it is also the day that I finally sat up and took notice of what High Voltage were aiming to do.

It seems they are already cult heroes. In time, they could be as important to us as RARE once were. It's important to have third parties out there doing games that Nintendo themselves wouldn't. What would be the point in buying third party games, otherwise? It's only a tiny bit of a shame that we didn't have this sort of mindset from other third parties right at the start.

[Zechs Merquise]

This is amazing. I wish Nintendo would just buy those guys and make them a second party. They deserve it. I can't wait for the Conduit and this has just jumped right up there in my most wanted. I wonder if it'll make it out for Christmas.

[david.dakota]

This is amazing. I wish Nintendo would just buy those guys and make them a second party. They deserve it.



That assumes they actually wish to loose their independence.

[Portlett]

finally some decent third party games coming to the wii, this and the conduit are gonna be awesome.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Well, they seem very focused on creating games for the Wii, so I just hope that continues. It would be a nice little boost for High Voltage if Nintendo did take them onboard. But, at the same time, I think they want to do things their own particular way, and not have Nintendo breathing down their necks, maybe?

Edit: Read's Portlett's post...ducks for cover.

[Hero-of-Time]

Im not too hyped about The Conduit, Gladiator left me feeling meh but this is more like it. Its about time someone embraced the Wiis online functions and gave us a high end co-op game and this could be it. Im keeping a close eye on this one.

[DuD]

"cryptobiological A-Team"........... sold :D

This sounds like it could be brilliant. It's also nice to see developers treading unfamiliar ground for the Wii. Long may High Voltage continue to impress.

:bouncy:

High five HVS. [/Borat Voice]

[ShadowV7]

This sounds amazing. These guys are going all out here. Awesome graphics, online co-op, Wii-Speak, Motion Plus, loads to kill at once. Oh hells yeah! Go HVS!

[Retro_Link]

OMG this sounds and looks awesome!!

Conduit: maybe
Gladiator: meh!
The Grinder: FUCK YEAH!!

Way da go High Voltage!!

http://i39.tinypic.com/t6ut09.jpg

'Flicker' line down the screen like HotD: Overkill? Hope they go all out on prodcution and style, as I'm sure they will.

[Zechs Merquise]

That assumes they actually wish to loose their independence.

With their support for Nintendo it's just waiting to happen.

[tapedeck]

OoooOOOoo this looks fun. Online COOP is what entices me. Shooting bitchin' werewolves looks like a good idea too. Kinda scary too :o
2nd party though? Hmmm. That means that any developer pushing titles onto Wii (making a real effort) MUST be bought out by Nintendo.

Oh, Rare, Factor 5... I'm not so sure if that's how things work.

[Emasher]

So its basically Left 4 Dead meets castlevania? Sounds awesome. HVS pwns.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

Looking at those vampires in the screenshots I am very much reminded by The Darkness.

Which is a sexy thing.

[Shino]

Its just amazing their efficiency, for a small studio to put out so many games so quickly.

[Cube]

A Left 4 Dead-like game on Wii? Awesome!

Still...three games and the art style and stuff for all of them manage to look completely generic...

[mcj metroid]

does.. it have split-screen?.. I fucking hate asses like ign leaving this bit of information out!


split-screen what's happened to you.. I wouln't be far off in saying that the best split screen experience we are probably going to get for the wii is metroid prime trilogy and that's sad.

[Dazkarieh]

does.. it have split-screen?.. I fucking hate asses like ign leaving this bit of information out!


split-screen what's happened to you.. I wouln't be far off in saying that the best split screen experience we are probably going to get for the wii is metroid prime trilogy and that's sad.

Did you read the interview???

"Oh and there's also split screen coop mode currently running in the demo, which is also pretty awesome for those who may not have access to play together using a Wi-Fi connection."

[mcj metroid]

Did you read the interview???

"Oh and there's also split screen coop mode currently running in the demo, which is also pretty awesome for those who may not have access to play together using a Wi-Fi connection."
how did i miss THAT!?

oh well.. im happy for that.. probably going to wait for this and get conduit on the cheap instead.

[kav82]

how did i miss THAT!?

oh well.. im happy for that.. probably going to wait for this and get conduit on the cheap instead.

You'll be in for a long wait; they're looking to release it around the holiday season of 2010!

[Noku]

Yeah dude, if you don't put your money where your mouth is (and buy The Conduit), this might not even get published...

[Zechs Merquise]

Everyone should go and get the Conduit, just because they've made such an effort. It's clear that certain developers need to be supported. I've got mine preordered!

[kav82]

I've booked a week off work for The Conduit! I intend to hammer out that game something rotten!!!

[ShadowV7]

Everyone should go and get the Conduit, just because they've made such an effort. It's clear that certain developers need to be supported. I've got mine preordered!

I would, but after being screwed over the House of the Dead and MadWorld, I just don't feel like wasting anymore money.

[Zechs Merquise]

I would, but after being screwed over the House of the Dead and MadWorld, I just don't feel like wasting anymore money.

What? You didn't like either of them? I really enjoyed both. It took me a couple of plays to get into both, neither grabbed me right away but when I got into both I loved them.

[ShadowV7]

I enjoyed them and all, but I didn't like buying it for full price, then to have it cut a week later.

[Zechs Merquise]

I enjoyed them and all, but I didn't like buying it for full price, then to have it cut a week later.

Ah, well I agree. I got the HotD Overkill for £24.99 (special edition) and Madworld for £14.98. Both at www.gameplay.com and I got them very close to release. I think I would've been pissed off if I'd have paid full price only to see them drop so dramatically a week or so later.

[Roklie]

I'm not getting anything I don't like, so if Conduit turns out to be mediocre, I'll gladly save my money for something else. To be honest I don't even understand the idea of buying something just for the sake of supporting the company that made it. I'm waiting for reviews and I'll decide later whether to get it or not, so far it hasn't really made a very big impression on me, besides the graphics.

[Captain Falcon]

I'm not getting anything I don't like, so if Conduit turns out to be mediocre, I'll gladly save my money for something else. To be honest I don't even understand the idea of buying something just for the sake of supporting the company that made it. I'm waiting for reviews and I'll decide later whether to get it or not, so far it hasn't really made a very big impression on me, besides the graphics.

Exactly - if the games they make have poor gameplay and aren't fun (and let's not forget, that's the sole reason we are playing) why should we support them to go and produce more mediocre titles.

Not that I'm saying The Conduit or this will be poor, I'll reserve judgment until after I've played them

On the surface, this has me more intrigued than The Conduit does.

[darkjak]

Nintendo, buy these guys. They're our new Rare!

[Emasher]

Nintendo, buy these guys. They're our new Rare!

I'm not sure that would be for the best. Now if they showed signs of developing for another console it would be a different story. But it might be best for Moral if they stayed independent.

[Zechs Merquise]

Nintendo, buy these guys. They're our new Rare!

Amen to that brother!

[Retro_Link]

They're not exactly our new Rare, we haven't even played any of their games.
They're just a developer very much dedicated to producing games for Nintendo.

[Tellyn]

They're not exactly our new Rare, we haven't even played any of their games.
They're just a developer very much dedicated to producing games for Nintendo.

The Americans have played their WiiWare games, and they didn't exactly set the world on fire.

[Retro_Link]

Exactly, there's no point hyping them up to 'classic' RARE status, who's games consistantly scored 90%+ over a period of 10 years or so, until we've played/had reviewed a selection of their games.

[spirited away]

Yer, this HVS hype is getting ridiculous. Let's see how the Conduit turns out first.

[Noku]

Comparing WiiWare games to their disc releases isn't a fair comparison tbh. Different team sizes, different goals. And it's not like they were bad.

I got both HotD & MW on the expensive (?!), and I don't regret it. More money going to the devs, more money for future games I'll buy I reckon :)

[Ganepark32]

Trailer for this available, courtesy of IGN.

object_ID=14352829&downloadURL=http://wiimovies.ign.com/wii/video/article/988/988424/grindere3deb_052909.mov_flvlowwide.flv

Looks great. Very frantic and will be even more so with more players.

[Retro_Link]

Looks awesome, really great, looking forward to seeing more levels etc...

Oh and the voice-over anyone!...

http://www.gjob.co.uk/blog/images/merchant.jpg

[darksnowman]

Trailer looks decent. Pretty atmospheric! *tries not to get drawn into the HVS hype*

[Ganepark32]

Ah, thanks for embedding it Retro. Was having trouble getting the right vid embedded when I put the link in (came up with some video for Rainbow Six: Vegas and Lost Via Domus ::shrug:)

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

Game's looking really good. Hope they have a few different models for the little vampire dude thing though.

They should have one with a beard.

[Noku]

Ah, thanks for embedding it Retro. Was having trouble getting the right vid embedded when I put the link in (came up with some video for Rainbow Six: Vegas and Lost Via Domus ::shrug:)

Had the same thing when trying to embed a trailer to Gladiator A.D.! I smell a conspiracy!

The voice-over is Mark Sheppard again I suppose. You know, that attourney in Battlestar Galactica? And the later president...

[Retro_Link]

That'll be because you're either putting IGN tags around the IGN link, or maybe just copying in the video number into IGN tags, both of which produce this R6 Vegas link...

14352829

With IGN video's all you need to do is directly copy and paste the link, nothing more. The tags aren't really needed, unlike the ones for youtube, gametrailers etc...

Also, it's rediculously early so it's almost definately not the final boxart, but IGN have this up...

http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/object/143/14352829/grinder_temp_box_wiiboxart_160w.jpg

[mcj metroid]

.. this kinda looks ok. I know it;s a very early build but so far nothing to write home about.. Doesn't look all that different from the conduit either.

[Retro_Link]

Doesn't look all that different from the conduit either.http://www.kmfdmsucks.net/ksa/ars_cliche/dr_evil_right.thumb.jpg

[david.dakota]

Doesn't look all that different from the conduit either.

And COD4 was a carbon copy of Turok too.

[Nolan]

What they said.

[mcj metroid]

http://www.kmfdmsucks.net/ksa/ars_cliche/dr_evil_right.thumb.jpg
bet it took you longer to find that pic than making a proper response.. oh you're so witty!

And COD4 was a carbon copy of Turok too.
you're not funny


What they said.
troll


Anyway I posted my feelings about this on many forums but this one gave me the stupidest responses... surprise surprise.


What i meant was the gameplay doesn't look all that different. i mean you're still fighting aliens.. why bother making a new ip for the same thing.. Would it not have been wiser to wait and try a sequel to conduit? I understand this has more of a focus on co-op but same thing.

[Retro_Link]

^ well you know what they say, "ask a stupid question..." and all...

They're not aliens they're vampires, zombie's and werewolves... "why bother making a new ip for the same thing"... so what every shooter's the same now?
This has a completely different setting, a grindhouse style, 4 player co-op etc...

[Emasher]

If they call it Conduit 2, people are going to expect something like the Conduit. This isn't like The Conduit, this is more like Left 4 Dead Meets Castlevania.

[mcj metroid]

^ well you know what they say, "ask a stupid question..." and all...

They're not aliens they're vampires, zombie's and werewolves... "why bother making a new ip for the same thing"... so what every shooter's the same now?
This has a completely different setting, a grindhouse style, 4 player co-op etc...
ya great
If they call it Conduit 2, people are going to expect something like the Conduit. This isn't like The Conduit, this is more like Left 4 Dead Meets Castlevania.

Ya.. the setting is much different alright.. then again look at red steel 2... COMPLETELY different.. no multiplayer,completely new graphical style,wild-west setting(or whatever), new characters and more focus on sword-play.. it's about as far removed from a sequel as you can get BUT it's using it's old name to help it sell... just like final fantasy does every single time..

sequels don't always have to be the same as the first game.. The chances are the grinder will be out later on in next year so i suppose the conduit will be old news by then.. meh I don't know just seemed strange to me that another fps would be announced before conduit was even out.

[Retro_Link]

Honestly I have no idea what to say to you...

Why are you talking about sequels? this isn't a sequel.
They announce they are working on a second shooter that is very different from The Conduit... but it's not different enough!

And how is Final Fantasy different every time? same visual style, same general plot theme, similar characters every time etc...

[Shino]

Sorry mcj but your making no sense. Other than being an FPS I don't see ANY similarity, and no reason whatsoever to label this as Conduit 2. The reason that has happened to Red Steel is even though it got shat on the critics, it sold pretty damn well.

[mcj metroid]

Sorry mcj but your making no sense. Other than being an FPS I don't see ANY similarity, and no reason whatsoever to label this as Conduit 2. The reason that has happened to Red Steel is even though it got shat on the critics, it sold pretty damn well.

ok i'll try one more time :)

ok it was probably wrong of me to say it looked the same.. when upon further research it's quite different..

my main question was.. would it have been better IF they waited for a conduit 2 oppertunity.. forget that this game was annouced and everything...
aren't they kinda jumping the gun releasing 2 fps games in space of a year really? even if they are different..

see when I heard of the third project.. i expecting it to be a completely different genre altogether.
But ok it's fine that it's an fps and I applaud them for making a new ip but financially maybe they should have waited a milked the shit out of the conduit name even if the settings were different..

I probably still don't make sense.. wasn't really a major point just a observation but yes I do agree these games are different now.

[darksnowman]

The most worrying thing McJ has said on this page is:


Anyway I posted my feelings about this on many forums but this one gave me the stupidest responses... surprise surprise.


You visit other forums?! :o


And how is Final Fantasy different every time? same visual style, same general plot theme, similar characters every time etc...

Same visual style? ::shrug:

General plot theme = save the world so... how dare they reuse that! :shakehead

The characters are only sometimes similar, i.e., you have an idea of who will be your white mage, your tank, your whatever- and thats only when you can't class change. Yeah there might be a recurring character like Cid or you get your usual low intelligence but high in brute force party member... Even at that you mold your characters as you want. Sooo... debunked once more. :heh:

[mcj metroid]

The most worrying thing McJ has said on this page is:



You visit other forums?! :o
:
I am everything!
haha no A few non-gaming ones like boards.ie and very rarely gametrailers and gonintendo...

and there you have it information you can totally ignore forever :bouncy:

[Retro_Link]

Same visual style? ::shrug:

General plot theme = save the world so... how dare they reuse that! :shakehead

The characters are only sometimes similar, i.e., you have an idea of who will be your white mage, your tank, your whatever- and thats only when you can't class change. Yeah there might be a recurring character like Cid or you get your usual low intelligence but high in brute force party member... Even at that you mold your characters as you want. Sooo... debunked once more. :heh:I was just saying that Final Fantasy always goes down the realistic JRPG route, they've never cel-shaded an installment or particularly tried something revolutionary, so how is it an example to be used against HVS.

And yeah like you say, they re-use the 'save the world plot'. I'm not saying they can't, I culdn't care less, but again how is it a good example to use when saying The Grinder is too similar to The Conduit?

[mcj metroid]

how is it a good example to use when saying The Grinder is too similar to The Conduit?
for that i was saying that sequels DOn't always have to have the same characters or settings or hell even gameplay.. I gave that example and red steel 2.

[Retro_Link]

Oh fair enough.

[Maase]

Quite surprised about this...
Looks awesome, can't wait to use WiiSpeak on it :3

[Zechs Merquise]

The trailer is SUPERB and the graphics look even better in motion. Plus, if that is the final boxart, I'll be happy, it's really good, defo better than either of the Conduit ones.

[DazzeL]

This looks absolutely fantastic and is just the thing we need for Wii.

Comparing this to The Conduit is utterly flawed anyway. If anyone has played say Half Life 2 (which is a single player, story driven fps like the Conduit) and then played Left4Dead (multiplayer online co-op game shooting zombies, similar to the Grinder) and complained that Left4Dead should have been HL3 simply because it was an fps made by Valve will understand this.

[darkjak]

ok i'll try one more time :)

ok it was probably wrong of me to say it looked the same.. when upon further research it's quite different..

my main question was.. would it have been better IF they waited for a conduit 2 oppertunity.. forget that this game was annouced and everything...
aren't they kinda jumping the gun releasing 2 fps games in space of a year really? even if they are different..

see when I heard of the third project.. i expecting it to be a completely different genre altogether.
But ok it's fine that it's an fps and I applaud them for making a new ip but financially maybe they should have waited a milked the shit out of the conduit name even if the settings were different..

I probably still don't make sense.. wasn't really a major point just a observation but yes I do agree these games are different now.

I'm really happy that they're releasing two different first person shooters for the Wii. The Wii has a huge lack of good FPS games, and I really think that this game suits my tastes better than the Conduit.

These games are very different, but since High Voltage already have an FPS near completion, it was probably quite cheap to make another one. We don't really have a confirmed release date, so this game could take ages to get out.

[DazzeL]

I'm really happy that they're releasing two different first person shooters for the Wii. The Wii has a huge lack of good FPS games, and I really think that this game suits my tastes better than the Conduit.

These games are very different, but since High Voltage already have an FPS near completion, it was probably quite cheap to make another one. We don't really have a confirmed release date, so this game could take ages to get out.

Cheap!?!?! I really don't understand this. Some companies, including some extremely good ones such as Valve and Blizzard (until WoW anyway), spend their entire lifetimes producing games from just one genre. This is not a problem.... they get good at it and make good games whilst different companies specialise in other genres....

[darkjak]

Cheap!?!?! I really don't understand this. Some companies, including some extremely good ones such as Valve and Blizzard (until WoW anyway), spend their entire lifetimes producing games from just one genre. This is not a problem.... they get good at it and make good games whilst different companies specialise in other genres....

Blizzard were never a one genre company. In the 90-s they made games like Rock & Roll Racing.

I'm not saying that cheap as in a bad way. It costs less time and money to make another FPS than to let's say make a racer or RPG.

[DazzeL]

Blizzard were never a one genre company. In the 90-s they made games like Rock & Roll Racing.

I'm not saying that cheap as in a bad way. It costs less time and money to make another FPS than to let's say make a racer or RPG.

Fair enough! I misunderstood what you meant by cheap. However, let's not pretend Blizzard have made their money and reputation on anything other than RTS (and WoW).

[Emasher]

Exactly, they've spent so much time on the Quantum 3 engine, why should they create a new engine when they can just make games that will run on the old one that would be just as good.

Split Screen Confirmed if you look close enough at the walkthrough video.

[Retro_Link]

Developer Walkthrough 1:

50737

Developer Walkthrough 2:

50778


- Multiplayer
- Wii Speak
- Wii Motion+ Guns
- Wii Motion+ Swords
- Still early in development, goal is to make a great game, super high quality

- Encourage fans to email them regarding the game: info@high-voltage.com

[stallion]

The Grinder gets a crossbow, destructible vehicles

January 3, 2010 by RawmeatCowboy Filed Under: Wii

Have you been voicing your requests for The Grinder, High Voltage's upcoming Wii project? Even if you haven't, plenty of other fans have. It turns out that two of the biggest requests thus far have involved the addition of a crossbow, as well as destructible vehicles. The good news is, High Voltage has indeed been listening. Both of these elements have been added to the current build of the game. If you have more requests for this title, now is as good a time as any to start asking!

http://www.gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=109682

[david.dakota]

The Grinder goes multiformat (http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/106/1066623p2.html)

[D_prOdigy]

Halloween 2011... So this will basically be going up against Left4Dead 4?

Good luck to them.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

The Grinder goes multiformat (http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/106/1066623p2.html)

And suddenly I lose all interest.

That's really bugged me. :\

[Daft]

Multiformat? This'll be interesting.

[Shino]

And suddenly I lose all interest.

That's really bugged me. :\

x2

Now I'm just curious to see how it sells.

[Emasher]

Multiformat? This'll be interesting.

This. Now I'm not sure what platform to buy it for, or even if I should still buy it.

[LostOverThere]

My reactions were as follows:

Multiplatform: "Aww, really? That's a bit of a bummer..."

See's Screenshots: "HOLY CRAP! LOOK AT THAT CONCEPT ART! THAT'S AMAZING!!! DO WANT!"

Q4 2011 release: "Aww, really? That's a bit of a bummer..."

[Strange Cookie]

Gutsy!

It's a shame for the Wii, though. Atleast it's still coming to Wii.

Truth be told, for the moment I'm more inclined to buy this for PS3... :red: But let's first wait and see how the game turns out. Conduit was hyped beyond belief, and for no reason.

Speaking of...

Besides, we clearly succeeded at our core goal; to create a kick-ass first person shooter that everyone can play!


I had to laugh. It's not the worst FPS, but a kick-ass FPS? That's stretching it a little. It's generic beyond belief. The only thing it has going for it was the controls IMO. But what use are wonderful controls when you can't do something really interesting with it? Hopefully The Grinder wil rectify this.

[Retro_Link]

WTF was that trailer?... have they taken a completely new approach with this now?... I thought it was going for a Gridhouse vibe and possibly a little light hearted like HotD: Overkill.
'Teaser trailer'... fuck off... we were getting trailers and long gameplay videos not so long ago.

Now all I see is vehicles, slow hulking characters, a ramped up horror meter, and a rediculous release date!

Though tbf, the graphics are pretty impressive!

[darksnowman]

Halloween 2011... So this will basically be going up against Left4Dead 4?

Good luck to them.

2011... it'll be on the Wii's successor then... ported down to the current next gen duo. :indeed:

[mcj metroid]

multiformat hmm i dunno. If conduit went multiformat it would have been killed.

I don't really have much faith in these developers either.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

The Grinder No Longer First-Person Shooter (http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/107/1076977p1.html)

You may recall last year we ran a little preview of a game called The Grinder, a first-person shooter made for Wii by High Voltage Software, the team that brought The Conduit to life on the Nintendo console. This game was to be a first-person shooter follow-up to The Conduit that featured four player co-op gameplay in a horror setting, similar to Valve's Left 4 Dead series.

You may also recall our story we ran just a few short weeks ago that revealed that High Voltage Software was making The Grinder as a multi-console game, versions for the Wii and Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, for release in late 2011.

There's another chapter to this tale, and it's unfolded at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week. Behind closed doors, High Voltage Software revealed to us the first playable of The Grinder on the Xbox 360. And it was not a first-person shooter. At all.

Instead, it's a top-down shooter in similar vein to Robotron or Gauntlet, with all four players sharing the same screen and controlling their characters with dual-analog control: left stick for movement, right stick for shooting.


The theme of the game is still the same: a wild west setting with towns overrun with vampires, imps, werewolves and other crazy killers. The idea is to blast your way through the environments with the variety of weapons at your disposal, all the while picking up health, ammunition and other items that'll increase your weapons' power.

The game looked sharp on the Xbox 360 console but it definitely has a ways to go – a year and a half is a good amount of time to get all the bells and whistles into a game and tweak the controls and optimize the framerate.

The reason for the change: while The Grinder would have been one of very few first person shooters on the Wii, it'd be among several on the higher def consoles and the team decided to not enter that genre glut with a "me too" product.

No final decision has been made about the Wii version, however – it could end up the first-person design that it was always originally intended to be, or it could end up a version of the game that's being created for the 360 and PlayStation 3.

Heh...

[LostOverThere]

Good God, High Voltage should just stfu until they work out precisely what they're doing what their franchise. Do not start a hype train before even basic design elements are laid out.

[welsh_gamer]

Hopefully it's just a HD spin-off (possible download?), and the Wii still get's the planned FPS version.

Pics :

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/107/1077020/gdc-10-the-grinder-no-longer-first-person-shooter-20100311061451080_640w.jpg
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/107/1077020/gdc-10-the-grinder-no-longer-first-person-shooter-20100311061524344_640w.jpg
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/107/1077020/gdc-10-the-grinder-no-longer-first-person-shooter-20100311061446580_640w.jpg

[dazzybee]

This looks awful. I think this will be just a Live game and Wii will keep the FPS version. If not, then that will not go down well with gamers!

[dazzybee]

This looks awful. I think this will be just a Live game and Wii will keep the FPS version. If not, then that will not go down well with gamers!

[D_prOdigy]

I don't know why, but I find the ever-developing development of the game, along with the entailing attitudes of the gaming community at large, about ten times more interesting (and amusing) than the game itself.

[darkjak]

Good game gone down the drain.

Hope this is just some kind of spinoff.

[Retro_Link]

Well they've ruined it, congrats!

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

And to think people doubted HVS.

[darksnowman]

Looks like gamers would be better off just downloading that Dracula game that came out on DSiWare and Wiiware last week. :heh:

[Retro_Link]

Oh man it looks bad!...

63049

That's the 360 version I'm assuming, given the green 'A' buttons on screen.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

I can only make the assumption that it's XBLA or PSN.

Or that it's a joke.

[Emasher]

Hopefully thats just a PSN/XBL version. Before I watched the video, I was thinking, it can't be that bad... ...Then I watched the video. How can you go from a decent looking FPS game, to a terrible looking top down game like that?

[david.dakota]

Yeah, that looks shocking. Still hoping we'll see the 'original' Grinder on Wii, but i'm doubting it, personally.

[Emasher]

Although, in all honesty, if they're charging $10 for it or so on PSN/XBL, its starting to look not bad.

[Ren of Heavens]

The right decision. I think it could be good for a PSN/XBLA game. The FPS genre is overcrowded on PS3/X360 and I honestly can't see High Voltage has the quality to compete with Valve's Left 4 Dead 3 next year.

[Retro_Link]

Perhaps the right decision for the HD console market, but if this is the Wii version aswell, High Voltage can go fuck themselves!

[mcj metroid]

i knew they wern't going to release another fps game when conduit exists
I mean jesus I got flamed for mentioning this before but it never made sense to me.
They are a small studio they'll likely try this title and work on a conduit 2.

[Fierce_LiNk]

What the Harry Mason is this shit?

[Zechs Merquise]

HAHA, what an utter joke. I thought it was bad when they said they were going from 4-player coop to two. Now it's a top down shooter??? WTF? I seriously hope the Wii version stays how it was last e3 where it actually looked great. That crap won't sell even if it is just an XBLA game.

[david.dakota]

but if this is the Wii version aswell, High Voltage can go fuck themselves!

Clearly, they'd do it top down too.

[Retro_Link]

Clearly, they'd do it top down too.It would be such a shame to scrap all that FPS work!

[mcj metroid]

They should really TRY be more professional and speak about a game when they are CERTAIN what it's going to be.

I hate to be cruel but They way this company is going they can't last much longer.

An ambitious developer doesn't go from a 4 player on-line fps to a top-down shooter , a desperate one does.....

reminds of of loaded back on ps1
E2wKbELWCSg

[Dante]

High Voltage History:
-HVS is a standard small developer, getting by with a bunch of passable shovelware and licensed products.

-IGN shows High Voltage's original FPS game with no publisher (The Conduit) for the Wii, in an attempt to help smaller devs with original Wii game ideas. The game looks rough, but it's an original FPS for the Wii so it gets noticed.

-The Conduit attracts attention from publishers looking to expand their Wii content.

-HVS starts announcing more games, most notably Animales de las Muertes, a bloody yet cartoony co-op top-down shooter for WiiWare.

-After showing off updated versions of The Conduit with all the control whatsits, Sega is revealed as the publisher and there's some B-listers announced as voice talent. Positive impressions, fancy feature lists like full online functionality, customizable controls, and Wii Speak support, and the fact that it's an original Wii FPS whip up hype.

-Animales never resurfaces after its initial reveal, is delayed and purportedly becomes a retail game.

-In the meantime, HVS releases WiiWare games Evasive Space, Gyrostarr, and High Voltage Hot Rod Show. They're all mediocre.

-Despite being hyped up as this serious rising developer, HVS is revealed to be developing the Wii/PS2/PSP Astro Boy movie game.

-Before The Conduit is even released, HVS announces two more Wii games: Gladiator A.D., a bloody swords and sandals Punch-Out style game in ancient Rome, and The Grinder, a 4P co-op FPS set in the Southwest and obviously inspired by Left 4 Dead. Both supposedly will have MotionPlus support.

-The Conduit is released to middling reviews and sales.

-HVS goes silent for months.

-Gladiator A.D. is re-revealed as Tournament of Legends. No longer is it a bloody semi-realistic gladiator game that plays like Punch-Out, but a colorful 3D fighting game with magic attacks and mythological monsters from around the world. To be published by Sega and aimed at... families looking for a Wii fighting game, I guess.

-HVS is announced to be developing the Iron Man 2 game for Wii.

-The Grinder is announced to be going multiplatform, and media showing the FPS game with higher quality graphics is released.

-The Grinder for 360 is shown at GDC, no longer as a co-op L4D-style FPS in which bat monsters and werewolves are fought in the desert but... a co-op top-down shooter that shows players fighting magical monsters in mad science labs. The Wii version is not present.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

I'm very hopeful that we will still get the FPS version, but even if that was to be it wouldn't make any sense. If they were to just make a completely different game for the Wii there would be no point in making it a multi-platform release in the first place, because it wouldn't be the same game. It jst would not make sense.

If they release the FPS version then colour me exceedingly happy, but it would just go to show that they are an extremely confused developer who certainly aren't under the best management.

This is just mess.

[Strange Cookie]

Hmmm, not quite as epic as the art has led us to believe...

Anyways, I seriously doubt the Wii-version will be a top-down-affair too. They have the best FPS-controlscheme outthere, and a lot of time and effort has already spent on The Grinder FPS. Surely they want to take credit for it.

Then again, stranger things have happened. If they change the Wii-version too, it'll prove what I've come to expect ever since playing The Conduit: HVS can talk the talk, but they can't walk the walk.

[Zechs Merquise]

I can see HVS becoming one of those industry jokes. Promising the earth, delivering shite.

[Daft]

A bit like Square-Enix then.

[Fierce_LiNk]

A bit like Square-Enix then.

Can you hear that rumbling in the distance?

Over the hills and far away
Sheikahzilla is coming to rip your soul away.

[Cube]

There's already too many top-down dual-analogue shooters for the XBLA. Not to mention that this genre is much faster for aiming with two analogues than an analogue and a pointer. On the flip side, a pointer is more accurate when shooting things on the edge of the screen.

[Daft]

Can you hear that rumbling in the distance?

Over the hills and far away
Sheikahzilla is coming to rip your soul away.

Have him work for them for a year, then get back to me.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Have him work for them for a year, then get back to me.

Was it not a nice place to work?

[Daft]

The people there were absolutely awesome (I still talk to them daily). The stunningly incompetent and oblivious upper management, not so much.

[Zechs Merquise]

Over on VGChartz.com they have hands on impressions of the Grinder on XBOX360, http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=7483&mp=1

They article stated:

There has been some confusion recently as to whether this new genre switch from FPS to top-down shooter for the PC, PS3, and XBox 360 versions mean the Wii version will remain an FPS or not. We asked High Voltage's Art Director, Matt Corso, if he could clarify this for our readers, and he told us he can't say yet, because they're just not sure yet. But Corso told us he wanted to make one thing clear: "High Voltage Software is not cheating its Wii fans, and we will keep providing quality content."

In fact, Corso said it would be great if they could get as much feedback as possible from their Wii-owning fans.

So Wii fans, Conduit fans, High Voltage fans, what do you think? Let us know in the comments if you want to see The Grinder for Wii as a top-down shooter or first-person shooter.

[Retro_Link]

There's already too many top-down dual-analogue shooters for the XBLA. Not to mention that this genre is much faster for aiming with two analogues than an analogue and a pointer. On the flip side, a pointer is more accurate when shooting things on the edge of the screen.From the video it looks like it has a simple lock-on system.
So Wii fans, Conduit fans, High Voltage fans, what do you think? Let us know in the comments if you want to see The Grinder for Wii as a top-down shooter or first-person shooter.Duh!

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

I have an idea, whether or not anyone wants to participate is a different matter.

We could write an "N-Europe The Grinder" e-mail with several posts giving suggestions as to what we want from the game. So either saying how much we still want an FPS or like the new look. I only say this because I sent them an e-mail when I got The Conduit saying how much I liked it and giving suggestions for a sequel and they responded to me with a lengthy e-mail of their own, which was great as I'm sure they would get a lot considering how fan-focussed they are. So I don't think writing something like that would go to waste and it could definitely have an influence.

Just a thought.

[Fused King]

I have an idea, whether or not anyone wants to participate is a different matter.

We could write an "N-Europe The Grinder" e-mail with several posts giving suggestions as to what we want from the game. So either saying how much we still want an FPS or like the new look. I only say this because I sent them an e-mail when I got The Conduit saying how much I liked it and giving suggestions for a sequel and they responded to me with a lengthy e-mail of their own, which was great as I'm sure they would get a lot considering how fan-focussed they are. So I don't think writing something like that would go to waste and it could definitely have an influence.

Just a thought.

I'm all for that!

I once send them them a mail in which I spoke of the Castlevania series and it's healthy diversity of freaks, monstrosities and other mythical creatures. If they needed inspiration on monsters and the like, I told them to play some Castlevania games, take note of different, rather unheard of, creatures and give them the unique 'HVS' treatment.
I was just stressing the fact that us gamers wouldn't want to end up with your typical, vampires, werewolves and frankensteins. At least that's what I thought.


Here's another suggestion:

DON'T GO TOP DOWN FOR WII!

[Retro_Link]

All the email needs ti say as far as I'm concerned is...

New version = won't buy!

[LostOverThere]

Here's the deal with me

The Conduit 2 has been revealed, and for me, The Conduit always seemed so much more interesting than The Grinder. Personally, I'd like to see The Conduit 2 be a Wii exclusive, first person shooter, whilst the Grinder stay on the 360/PS3/PC. Honestly, if I had to choose between The Conduit 2 and a FPS version of The Grinder, I'd take The Conduit 2 any day.

[Zechs Merquise]

All the email needs ti say as far as I'm concerned is...

New version = won't buy!

Too right, they say they want to hear from gamers, well I've not seen anywhere on the net anyone saying they like the new look more than the old one. I feel a petition coming on lol

[mcj metroid]

so in other words they're going to concentrate on a sequel to the conduit.
I don't think the dev is making this grinder change by choice....

[Retro_Link]

I just don't get what they were thinking!!...


New Developer Diary:

63395


I just can't see 360/PS3 owners buying this! They have so much better stuff in comparison, at least Wii owners have a lack of this type of stuff, so surely Wii should be their primary audience?!

They constantly hark on about wanting to work with and get feedback from fans and the media, well surely everyones reaction to this change is... UMM NO THANKS!... so surely they should scrap it.

For a small developer, surely they wasted a lot of time and money on the original version to just forget about it, it looked to be at a good stage! All seems a bit of crazy.

[Zechs Merquise]

I just don't get what they were thinking!!...

I just can't see 360/PS3 owners buying this! They have so much better stuff in comparison, at least Wii owners have a lack of this type of stuff, so surely Wii should be their primary audience?!

They constantly hark on about wanting to work with and get feedback from fans and the media, well surely everyones reaction to this change is... UMM NO THANKS!... so surely they should scrap it.

For a small developer, surely they wasted a lot of time and money on the original version to just forget about it, it looked to be at a good stage! All seems a bit of crazy.

Totally, I can't imagine that after the first showing sof the Grinder their mail boxes were overflowing with pleas to turn it into a top down Smash TV clone. I've never heard as much shite come from a developer as I have HVS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LDJWTuA6k

Just look how good this looked as well. It seemed like it was at a pretty advanced level of development. What's more the environments and the weapons looked a lot better than those in the Conduit.

[D_prOdigy]

NWR Interview (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/specialArt.cfm?artid=22757)

Can somebody help me with this?

NWR: So officially, what is the status of The Grinder on Wii?

JO: We're planned for it, then we switched to Infernal Engine; the focus has been on PS3 and 360. We're very interested in pursuing Wii titles. We think there are great opportunities out there on the Wii. We're kind of still defining--the engine does work on the Wii--we're defining what the Wii SKU will be.

What does that even mean?!

[Fierce_LiNk]

NWR Interview (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/specialArt.cfm?artid=22757)

Can somebody help me with this?



What does that even mean?!

In short, it means:

Ps360 love.

Wii can suck my balls.

[LostOverThere]

aka

Will we get the Grinder? Your guess is as good as mine.

Will we get The Conduit 2 instead? Yes

Well, that's what my magic 8 ball said anyway.

[mcj metroid]

ya It really seems like this won't be coming to the wii the way they are acting... Conduit 2 was kinda announced as well recently.... convenient.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I reckon it'll still come to the Wii, but it just sounds like they're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

The original video of the game was shown. It was stated the game was for the Wii. I think the reactions were quite positive. So, why change the focus? Why worry about what game to give the Wii Owners? At no point did anyone complain about it being an FPS, and declaring that they wanted a top-down shooter. At no point!

My advice to them: Give us the game you showed in the first place.

[Retro_Link]

I think they may have lost the plot!

They seem to be desperate to get something on the 360/PS3 after what was probably slightly dissapointing sales of The Conduit.

However, I predict this new version of The Grinder is going to absolutely bomb on the HD consoles, they have absolutely no reason to buy it, it doesn't even look good (even by many Wii games standards) and seems to have completely lost its style. HD console owners have there Bayonetta's and God of War to play.

The previous version of The Grinder is bound to have outsold on Wii alone, what this new version will sell on 360/PS3 (and possibly Wii) combined.

[LostOverThere]

The original video of the game was shown. It was stated the game was for the Wii. I think the reactions were quite positive. So, why change the focus? Why worry about what game to give the Wii Owners? At no point did anyone complain about it being an FPS, and declaring that they wanted a top-down shooter. At no point!
Sales? No good business is driven by anything but sales. Unfortunate but true.

[James McGeachie]

NWR Interview (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/specialArt.cfm?artid=22757)

Can somebody help me with this?



What does that even mean?!

Someone with balls needs to interview this guy, printout a screenshot of the old version of the game and say "hey, what happened to this exactly?"

[stallion]

High Voltage History:



Didn't they announce around Christmas/New Year that it was down to 2 player online co-op before it disappeared of the radar

[Dante]

The Grinder stays FPS on Wii
(http://wii.ign.com/articles/108/1080689p1.html)
You might be current on High Voltage Software's The Grinder, but just in case, here's a quick primer. The title was announced as a Wii-exclusive online-cooperative first-person shooter similar to Left 4 Dead. Then the studio went quiet for a year. When Grinder resurfaced, it was for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 -- as a top-down action title inspired by the developer's Hunter: The Reckoning series.

Some fans suspected that the Wii version got the axe in the interim, but that's not at all the case. In fact, High Voltage wants to ship Grinder for Nintendo's console as a first-person shooter.

"The expansion of Grinder to 360 and PS3 and its subsequent change in gameplay and perspective has been somewhat misinterpreted as a universal change across all platforms," High Voltage's chief creative officer, Eric Nofsinger, explained to IGN. "We still genuinely love the Wii and would ideally like to see a publishing partner pick up both a FPS Wii version and a third-person action version specific to the 360 and PS3."

Nofsinger added that the developer has not stopped work on the Wii iteration.

How would you prefer The Grinder?

"We have invested more than year into the Wii; the game is extremely fun, and frankly, we wouldn't want to see that work 'thrown away,'" said Nofsinger. "But when we decided to add the 360 and PS3 platforms it didn't seem to make much sense to jump on the rainbow chasing treadmill of trying to do the same game for such dissimilar consoles and end up short changing one or the other."

We'll keep you posted as more develops on the title. In the meanwhile, we've posted a new video of the top-down 360/PS3 versions of Grinder on our respective sister-sites.

[mcj metroid]

ugh these developers are weird.

Why didn't they just say it wasn't changed, why did they wait 2 weeks to tell us that its the same?
Oh well it's a good thing anyway I suppose.... but do they really expect the 360/ps3 game to sell?

[darkjak]

ugh these developers are weird.

Why didn't they just say it wasn't changed, why did they wait 2 weeks to tell us that its the same?
Oh well it's a good thing anyway I suppose.... but do they really expect the 360/ps3 game to sell?

It's actually easy to see. The Grinder thread has been dead for months, and now it's lit up like a christmas tree! People whom liked the concept have been reminded and probably reacted quite strongly about an inferior version potentially replacing the game they were looking forward to.

[david.dakota]

excellent news.

[STOOPIDDITTIES]

Reading this and seeing The Conduit 2 screens, I feel slightly spoilt.

[LostOverThere]

Reading this and seeing The Conduit 2 screens, I feel slightly spoilt.
This. The question though: Which one will be better?

Anyone wanting to take a stab?

[stallion]

The Grinder stays FPS on Wii
(http://wii.ign.com/articles/108/1080689p1.html)

Great news :D must have been the email i sent them :laughing: