Furious 4 Leaves Brothers In Arms Franchise as New IP

[Timothy Chang]

Furious 4 Leaves Brothers In Arms Franchise as New IP

Gearbox Software's president says the game's development has "evolved" beyond the original series.

Brothers In Arms: Furious 4 was revealed as a radical departure from the World War II squad-based shooter series. The Escapist's E3 2011 preview [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110978-E3-Brothers-in-Arms-Furious-4] showed that Gearbox's latest vision favored cartoonish visuals, comedic dialog, and RPG-style leveling over somber, dramatic storytelling and careful suppress-and-flank maneuvers. Now, it seems that the changes have run so deep that Furious 4 will no longer be part of the Brothers In Arms franchise.

Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford announced at PAX that Furious 4 will be spun off into an separate brand. He stated that the game had "evolved" since its inception, and that the game's developers "pushed the gameplay loop" and "got into a place that got away from the core" of the original franchise. As a result, the company made the decision to "unshackle" the brand from the re-imagined title.

Pitchford explained that by removing the reference to Brothers In Arms, the developers were able to experiment with new gameplay features that would've gone against the grain of the game's origins. He also suggested that Furious 4 will combine gameplay genres, similar to the meld of first-person shooter and RPG mechanics in Borderlands, although he declined to provide further details until the Gearbox Software community day in Dallas, Texas on September 15th.

Announcements on Furious 4 had remained quiet since its reveal in Ubisoft's E3 conference, which featured a band of four soldiers hunting down Hitler in a style that appeared to be highly inspired by Quentin Tarentino's Inglourious Basterds. Given the reaction from Brothers In Arms fans [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.289683-Brothers-in-Arms-WTF-aka-Furious-Four] over the abrupt shift in tone, it seems like a good decision to separate Furious 4 from the heroic exploits of the 101st.

Sources: Polygon [http://kotaku.com/5939896/brothers-in-arms-furious-four-is-no-more-its-now-an-entirely-new-game]

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[Dragoon]

Good move here now they can be as creative as they want without being tied down with the brand name of Brothers in Arms. Seemed like a completely different game in the first place anyway so it makes sense.

 

[NLS]

Pitchford explained that by removing the reference to Brothers In Arms, the developers were able to experiment with new gameplay features that would've gone against the grain of the game's origins.

They already went "against the grain of the game's origins" the second they thought of mixing Inglorious Basterds with Borderlands and slapping the name "Band of Brothers" on it. It was already way beyond the name of Band of Brothers, so what new gameplay elements are they adding NOW that is deviating even further away? A gun that shoots swastikas covered in poo and lightning?

Or, it's as simple as the fact that someone noticed that they did a big mistake about naming it Band of Brothers in the first place, simply because the actual game had NOTHING to do with the franchise, and now they're trying to cover their asses. Good thing people got angry about this, or they would've just continued on using the Band of Brothers name, regardless if they added new "gameplay features" o not.

 

[Sis]

I'm a huge Brothers in Arms fan and I did nothing but applaud Furious 4 upon its first revelation. So yeah, I'm just happy it's still coming!

 

[Dogstile]

I'm a huge Brothers in Arms fan and I did nothing but applaud Furious 4 upon its first revelation. So yeah, I'm just happy it's still coming!

Same here, I want the story to be wrapped up, of course. But honestly, this looked so fun I didn't care that they were making this under the name.

 

[Zhukov]

I'll be curious to see if simply removing the name from the box will placate the folks who were pissed off at Furious 4.

People can be such funny creatures.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I'll be curious to see if simply removing the name from the box will placate the folks who were pissed off at Furious 4.

People can be such funny creatures.

It will be nothing like the ME3 threads thankfully

 

[irrelevantnugget]

I'll be curious to see if simply removing the name from the box will placate the folks who were pissed off at Furious 4.

People can be such funny creatures.

It went from ire, to apathy. For me at least. At least they've finally changed it, though. It should never have been part of the Brothers in Arms franchise in the first place. Imagine the next Half-Life game suddenly featuring a talking, chainsaw-wielding puppy instead of Gordon. Sure, it might be more fun but it doesn't fit in. Half-Life is Gordon's story. Brothers in Arms is Baker's story. No need to suddenly act goofy.

 

[saintdane05]

I always knew this one was adopted.

Must.... resist... Portal... quotes.... willpower... failing...


<youtube=BOPriRx4PBs>

 

[Krantos]

The game had no business having the Brothers in Arms name attached. It was blatant name recognition whoring. Glad to see they've dropped it.

+2 internets Gearbox

 

[hazabaza1]

...yay?
Never got the whole complaining about the name thing.

 

[natster43]

I don't see what the big problem was. It was obviously a spin-off title. Whatever, still cool to know this game still exists.

 

[elilupe]

I am oh-so-very relieved they are separating these IPs. When they first announced this as a Band Of Brothers game, I was so conflicted between thinking the game looked awesome, and being angered over the betrayal of the serious tone of Band of Brothers.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Very cool of them for doing this. Most companies wouldn't care what the fans felt about it and would keep the brand name on there for sales. Now that they already have the attention of Brothers in Arms fans, this deviation will create more attention for the game from others now. At least, that's how I view it. I like it.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

When this was announced as brothers in arms in the first place I nearly gave up on them as a company.

 

[FoolKiller]

A most brilliant tactic Gearbox. Simply genius.

I applaud them for this. Not only do they get attention by originally calling it Brothers in Arms, but then when there is enough publicity they drop the Brothers in Arms name so they can make it into its own series and keep the faithful happy. And now they have brought attention to the game that otherwise wouldn't have been there.