Announced in 2011 at Ubisoft’s E3 press conference Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 was to be the next instalment in the Brothers in Arms franchise after Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway. The game was originally set to be released sometime in the first half of 2012 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, but that never happened. However, in 2012 Ubisoft let go of the Brothers in Arms IP and The Furious 4 trademark granting the games developers, Gearbox Software, full ownership of both. The president of Gearbox, Randy Pitchford, then announced that the Brothers in Arms name was being dropped from the title due to negative fan feedback and from now on the game would just be called Furious 4. Pitchford also said that internal discussions held within Gearbox led to the same conclusion that Brother in Arms and Furious 4 should be separate IPs. He said that there would be another Brothers in Arms game sometime in the future when the time is right but for now Gearbox was concentrating on Furious 4 which would be undergoing some drastic changes.
While previous Brothers in Arms games followed Sargent Matt Baker and the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in a serious historical setting, Furious 4 would have taken a quite different approach to the World War 2 setting. Furious 4 looked like a cross between Borderlands and Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglorious Bastards. The plot followed a group of four characters as they massacred their way through Germany in 1944 all the way to Hitler, and that’s all we really know about the plot itself.
There is a small bit of information on each of the four playable characters. Firstly there was Chok who was a Native American soldier with a fondness for hatchets. Next up was Stitch who was an Irishman with a few lose screws who seemed to enjoy taking out his enemies with a custom made taser a little too much. Crockett was from Texas and could use a cattle prod to brand enemies. Lastly there was Montana who was a Nazi killing lumberjack with a large machine gun, a chainsaw and bear traps. There was also a narrator who spoke over the gameplay and was just as much of a character as the other four. He would clue you into the moment to moment plan and often hinted that he felt the members of the Furious Four were quite stupid. The only gameplay shown for the game was behind closed doors at E3 2011 and judging from what the people who saw it said historical accuracy was not a concern in Furious 4, apparently they even had a helicopter in a WWII shooter. The only other thing discussed about the gameplay was it’s over the top trigger happy violence that attempted humour.
On the 16th of July 2015 Randy Pitchford was speaking at the Develop: Brighton conference and said:
“Furious 4 is not a thing anymore, right? Creative development is a trip. The idea that something started as a Brothers in Arms game, through some absurd convulsion, ended up as Battleborn is evidence of what’s possible.”
With that Furious 4 was officially cancelled although as Pitchford said it transformed into Battleborn so it’s likely that a lot of Furious 4’s assets will end up in that game. In fact Furious 4’s Montana character will feature in Battleborn.
The good news for Brothers in Arms fans is that Gearbox is going to start development on the next “authentic” game in the series soon which will more than likely follow on from Hell’s Highway. Gearbox has been under fire in recent years for Duke Nukem: Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines although their Borderlands series has been positively received and proves that they are talented developers. Gearbox is currently working on Battleborn and their website says they’re hiring for the next Borderlands game so we can expect news on that soon.
Article by Conor Hutton
Images:
Videos:
What do you think about this unseen game? Give your vote!
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Would you like to add more info, screens or videos to this page? Add a comment below!
- Quark (Quantic Dream) [Dreamcast – Cancelled] - 24-03-2024
- Fortris [PC/Playstation/Dreamcast – Cancelled] - 09-03-2024
- Gorkamorka [PC / Dreamcast – Cancelled] - 16-12-2023
Whilst i’d loved the 2 Xbox (original) B.I.A games, when i finally got to try Hell’s Highway (B.I.A 3) after waiting 3 years from it’s 1st showing, i was so dissapointed.
Randy Pitchford had promised it would push gaming into a new world of intelligence and emotional power……whilst game was atmospheric enough, A.I worked well, the story was weak and the slow-mo sequences when you pulled off an impressive shot just seemed to cheapen what they were supposed to be attempting…to portray the horrors of war.
I lost all faith in the series there and then.
UBISOFT® REVEALS BROTHERS IN ARMS FURIOUS 4TM
London, UK – June 6, 2011 – Today, during its press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Ubisoft ® unveiled the development of Brothers in Arms Furious 4™. Developed by Gearbox™ Software and published by Ubisoft, Brothers in Arms Furious 4 is the latest iteration of the best-selling Brothers in Arms ® franchise, spinning the series in a new direction. The game will be available worldwide for the Xbox 360 ® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft ®, the Sony ® PlayStation ® 3 computer entertainment system and Windows ® PC in the first half of calendar year 2012.
Set in World War II, Brothers in Arms Furious 4 is a brutal first person shooter that offers an exciting campaign mode playable with up to four players in co-op, as well as an extensive competitive multiplayer mode. The story follows four fierce and fearless warriors tracking the Führer himself. As one of the Furious 4, players will use special weaponry and unexpected combat abilities to fight the greatest threat the world has ever faced: an experimental Nazi army conceived in secret by the Third Reich.
“The Brothers in Arms franchise has been renowned for its gritty direction that has dropped players into the middle of World War II,” said Adam Novickas, U.S. director of marketing at Ubisoft. “With Brothers in Arms Furious 4, Gearbox brings the action to a whole new level filled with unexpected twists and over-the-top battles that are sure to please new players and fans alike.”
For more information on Brothers in Arms Furious 4, please visit: http://www.brothersinarmsgame.com
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 26 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2010-11 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of € 1.039 billion. To learn more, please visit http://www.ubisoftgroup.com .
© 2011 UBISOFT Entertainment and Gearbox Software. All Rights Reserved. Brothers in Arms, Brothers in Arms Furious 4 are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment and Gearbox Software. Gearbox Software and the Gearbox logo are registered trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are registered trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment.
KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft.
“PlayStation” and “PS3” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.