State of Emergency 2 rises from grave

While the original State of Emergency was widely considered to be something of a letdown, its sequel promised to right the wrongs and improve the gameplay. But when its developer, VIS Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy last month, the game was placed on the auction block. Today, the game has finally found a developer to finish the job: Montreal-based DC Studios.

While DC Studios is based in Quebec province, the company is using this acquisition to expand its facilities into Scotland. When VIS Entertainment closed its doors, 54 developers, artists, and administrators lost their jobs. Thus, there is an untapped labor pool in Scotland.

The new version of State of Emergency is currently slated for release this fall for the PlayStation 2, with other versions (PC and Xbox editions were previously announced) to follow at an unspecified date. Players will be able to drive vehicles, mow down crowds of people with different weapons, and follow a story somewhat more evolved than the previous game's.

DC Studios is known for its jack-of-all-trades development style. The company produces games for the Game Boy Advance, mobile phones, and game consoles. DC also develops controller-based games, such as Atari TV Games, a small Atari 2600 controller that plugs into a television and contains 10 old-school games.

While DC Studios has worked with many publishers in the past, such as Konami, Atari, Ubisoft, and Majesco, there is no word yet on a publisher for State of Emergency 2.