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Archived News:
The day two Team Fortress 2
The Sniper Update is online, describing the new Payload Race gameplay mode
to be included in the imminent Sniper class update for the multiplayer shooter.
The update also features screenshots from the two new Arena maps that will be
part of the Sniper update, one called Sawmill, and the other Nucleus.
GamesRadar has a trailer from Armored Front, the second DLC pack planned for
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Monolith's horror/shooter sequel. They say
the DLC will include a pair of new maps and some mechs for your meching
pleasure, and the trailer concludes with a release date of May 21. Thanks Mike Martinez.
Bethesda's Pete Hines Speaks
on the Official Xbox 360 Magazine has an indication from Bethesda's
spokesperson that it is still possible that more DLC could be released for
Fallout 3. He says their surprise at the commercial success of the DLC they've
already released means it's not decided for sure that the third pack, Broken
Steel will end things, saying: "Whether it's the absolute last one remains to be
seen."
SOE announces some
previously unrevealed details about The Agency, the upcoming
espionage-themed MMOG. Here's the list of what they've unveiled: • Live
the Life of an Elite Agent: The Agency requires spy world skills in combat,
stealth, and style. Players jet around the globe to exotic locales picking up
intel, forming networks and taking out criminal masterminds for a multitude of
unique missions with numerous goals. With gameplay ranging from sneaky
infiltration to all out firefight assaults, there's something for every aspiring
agent.
• Fun Now, No Waiting: The Agency blends the action of shooter gameplay with
the persistence of an online virtual world. At any point, PS3 or PC players can
jump right in and frag opponents in head-to-head combat or advance the ranks in
a rich story packed with exciting missions.
• Mercenary or Spy - the Choice is Yours: Operate as a slick super spy or a
gritty mercenary, administering arms deals, executing assassinations, managing
espionage, counter intelligence, and more. Collect the right weaponry, gadgets,
gear, attire and aliases to gain access to numerous locales and influence over
the people within them.
• Put Operatives to work: Operatives are collectible non-player characters who
provide the goods and services players desire, and the in-mission support to
keep them alive. Operatives work 24/7 to help players concentrate on the mission
at hand. Trade them with friends or sell them to the highest bidder.
• Build Your Own Agency: As players advance through the ranks of their
faction, they'll also begin building their own Agencies. Players increase their
power even further by creating Joint Agencies with others.
PsychicSoftware announces the launch of Darkwind: Tactical, a new free
sandbox system within Darkwind, a
turn-based auto combat MMOG, not to be confused with
Darkwind Online. Here's the
explanation: "Darkwind: Tactical, a new free-to-play sandbox system within the
game, is targeted at those players who enjoy the challenge of PvP but wish to
play combats without the requirement to build up their own resources in a
persistent game-world. Players choose the map, the precise vehicle
configurations and the characters involved, selecting from 52 types of chassis,
57 types of weapon, 19 types of engines and 47 wilderness maps."
Playlogic Entertainment announces Aliens in the Attic, a "family
friendly," action/adventure game based on the upcoming movie of the same name.
The game is expected on July 28 for Windows, Wii, DS, and PlayStation2, and
here's word: "Aliens in the Attic for Wii, PS2 and PC gives players a whole new
way to experience the storyline by allowing them to assume the identity of one
of four different alien explorers whose mission it is to take over the summer
home, and possibly the world! This version of the game features 15 exciting
levels that are carried out in four different locations. Plus, players can
switch between characters on the fly for fast-paced action."
Slitherine Strategies announces the release of Conquest! Medieval Realms,
a turn-based puzzle/strategy game developed by Illustrious Software, is now
available for online
purchase. They say: "Conquest! Medieval Realms, developed by Illustrious
Software, is a turn-based game where the objective is to conquer up to 7
opposing players (either AI players or other human players) by defeating their
armies and capturing their lands - to do this you will need to unite all of your
lands, build up a powerful economy, and raise armies to defend the homeland and
to take lands from your enemies."
GameSpot now features a new developer diary movie from East India Company,
Nitro Games' upcoming naval combat game. In the debut entry in the diary series,
lead designer Kim Soares provides an overview of the game's battles and trade
management and introduces the three primary views in the game: strategic level,
port level, and tactical level.
A new trailer from Ghostbusters: The Video Game offers a look at
multiplayer play from the upcoming game based on the ghost-busting movies. The
clip demonstrating what appears to be co-op play is posted on
AtomicGamer.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
The
World of Warcraft Forums have a response from Blizzard community manager
Zarhym clarifying that Blizzard's unannounced fifth project is an
MMOG based on an entirely new intellectual property. Here's the key quote,
courtesy of
IncGamers: "We have nothing to advertise for the new MMO because it’s a
shell of a game thus far. We’ve already stated it’ll be a brand new franchise,
which means the lore, art, and game play are being developed entirely from
scratch. It’s an overwhelming process, but a process through which we excel. Our
track record supports this."
dtp entertainment provides a report on
Divinity 2: Ego Draconis indicating the RPG sequel is on track for its
planned release this summer for both Windows and Xbox 360. The latest news is
that they have completed all the voice recordings for the English edition of the
game, incorporating the voice talents of professional actors like
Bill Bingham,
Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis,
Jeff Rawle, and
Josefina Gabrielle. Word is:
"Voice actors for over 400 game characters had to be cast, and dtp entertainment
and Larian Studios have recorded 100,000 words in nearly 10,000 takes."
It looks like the seventh Call of Duty game is currently in production,
according to the LinkedIn profile
of David Kim, where the Treyarch Studios senior animator lists the
following: "I am currently on my second title as a senior animator in the games
industry with Activision / Treyarch on Call Of Duty 7." Thanks
superannuation.
The Team Fortress 2
Website has a follow-up to yesterday's Sniper news with a
clarification about the new Sniper bow that's coming to the teamplay shooter.
Word is: "No, the Huntsman doesn't stun. It pins dead/dying players." They offer
a screenshot illustrating the effect.
Bloomberg.com has word that creditors of Midway Games are suing Sumner
Redstone and his National Amusements holding company over claims that Midway was
"hurt" when Redstone sold his 87% stake in Midway. According to
Midway's creditors, "The transaction caused Midway irretrievably to lose the
ability to take advantage of its valuable accumulated net operating losses and
other tax assets," while according to a National Amusements spokesperson, "This
suit is completely without merit."
Manual versions of the patch for Tom Clancy's EndWar released
yesterday via Steam
are now available in various languages. The patches can be downloaded from
The Patches
Scrolls, where they have the
patch notes (or
note), which says the new version fixes random crashes.
Trembling Hand - What Makes a Good Game Review?
Long answer: I've long wrestled with the notion of what makes a good
review from three distinct perspectives: as a journalist and game reviewer
myself; as a commissioning editor of games reviews; and as a gamer. But I've
come to a conclusion that instead of defining a review by what it is, it's
better to define it by what it's for; a functionalist defnition, if you
will.
I went on some errands yesterday and achieved an unparalleled degree of failure
in accomplishing anything. I found a listing at Wal-Mart for a water-mister
dealie we've been looking for to cool people on the deck during the summer, but
it was impossible to find anyone there capable of reading their own name tag,
much less help me locate this hard-to-find item. Plan B was to hit PetSmart and
find a new raised food/water bowl for the doggies, but the selection of these
they had was bizarre, as they all seemed designed to accommodate dogs small
enough that they could walk under our two leggy beasts. Having failed at my two
efforts at productivity, I stopped at Best Buy, as I have some Reward Zone
credits to redeem, and there's no way a geek like myself could fail to find
something there. Of course, following my theme of futility, they were in the
midst of some sort of localized power outage, and were closed when I arrived.
Sometimes you can't win.
R.I.P.:
Phair, woman who named Pluto, dead at 90.
Cyanide Studio announces the licensing of A Song of Ice and Fire and
their plans to create video games based on the fantasy series by author George
R. R. Martin: Cyanide, an independent video game studio, and George R. R.
Martin today announced their partnership to create the first-ever video games
inspired by the author’s award-winning, international bestselling ‘A Song of Ice
and Fire’
fantasy series.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cyanide has obtained the exclusive rights to
develop ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ video games for next-generation consoles and
PC, and in collaboration with George R.R Martin, development has begun. "We are
all huge fans of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, so it is a true honour for our teams
to be entrusted with creating the first video games inspired by this
masterpiece" stated Patrick Pligersdorfer, Managing Director of Cyanide. "The
twists and turns of the plot will allow us to deliver an experience which can be
enjoyed by both long-time fans as well as gamers new to the series."
Published most notably by Bantam Books in North America and Voyager Books in the
United Kingdom, the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novels have been translated into
more than twenty languages (including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian) and
have been nominated for numerous prizes. Set in a world where nothing is simply
black and white, the rich web of characters makes it an ideal background for
numerous genres of video games.
‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ has already been adapted into a card game and a board
game. More recently, HBO acquired the rights with the intent of turning the
novels into a television series.
As noted on the Dawn of War
II Website, the promised patch for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
is now automatically available via
Steam, updating the
sci-fi RTS sequel to version 1.3.1. The new version adds the Two-on-Two game
mode to ranked play, a pair of new maps, new kill animations, numerous
bug-fixes, and more.
Steam now features a new
automatic update for Tom Clancy's EndWar, though there is no word on what
is included in the new version of this real-time strategy game.
The Chronicles of Spellborn Website
announces the release of a new patch for Acclaim's MMORPG. The
patch notes
outline all that's changed, and word is: "The time has come to fight! Prepare
your blades, skill decks, and your most beautiful armors. House Maul has opened
the Arena for organized matches. You will be able to sign up in Hawksmouth or
the Quarterstone Arena District, to battle in The Chronicles of Spellborn!
Skirmish matches are open to anyone at any time; House Maul will make sure."
They also announce a live chat on Thursday: "Join us for a Live Spellborn
Webinar Thursday, May 14th, 2009 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PT."
Steam News announces that
preloads are now available for
Killing Floor, so those interested can play the Tripwire's upcoming co-op
survival/horror game as soon as it's released on Thursday. Also, those willing
to pre-purchase the game before then will get a 25% discount. Also, there's a
Killing Floor Interview on Mod DB discussing the project with Alex Quick.
Gamestop announces preorder bonuses for Overlord II on any platform,
offering those who pre-commit to the action/adventure sequel one of four
miniature minions (thanks
Kotaku). We're digging the hype that GameSpot has attached to this: "Reserve
Overlord 2 and receive one of four different minion figurines. Save a space on
your shelf between your President Obama gold coins and your Larry the Cable Guy
Collector's Plates, because these are destined to become instant collectibles.
Available for online and in-store customers while supplies last."
2K Games announces that Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition
is now available in North American stores, offering a DRM-free collection of the
turn-based strategy sequel and its three expansions: New York, NY – May
12, 2009 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
(NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Sid Meier’s Civilization IV®: The Complete
Edition is now available in stores across North America. This definitive
collection for Games for Windows® delivers the complete Civilization IV
experience in one value-priced, DRM-free package.
As one of the most respected franchises in the gaming industry, Civilization has
sold more than 9 million units worldwide. Developed by 2K’s Firaxis Games,
Civilization IV: The Complete Edition combines the award-winning classic
Civilization IV experience with three expansions: Sid Meier’s Civilization IV:
Warlords®, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword®, and Sid Meier’s
Civilization IV: Colonization™. This value-enriched package keeps players
immersed in the “just one more turn” gameplay that has been synonymous with the
Civilization series for decades:
id CEO
Hollenshead- Studio To Remain 'Games First, Licenses Second' on Gamasutra is
a conversation with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, who explains that the
independent developer is concentrating on its upcoming games, Rage and DOOM 4,
and this is taking precedence over licensing out the Tech5 engine that underlies both
titles. He explains the rationale behind this: "Our philosophy on that has been
that we'd rather have a small number of good-fit, high-quality developer
licensees than a bunch that aren't really good fits or that may not be that
bright of a licensee anyway."
The Sniper Update, Day One
on the Team Fortress 2 Website offers details on the sniper update for
Team Fortress 2, which Valve now says to expect for release soon. The update
introduces "The Huntsman," a bow and arrow setup to allow the immobilization of
your victim for further victimization. Valve says another free weekend is
"coming soon" for the multiplayer shooter. They also offer an interesting
history lesson, as it turns out that it was cavemen with arrows who wiped out
the dinosaurs.
Eidos Interactive announces that Battlestations: Pacific is available
today in North America, while the European release of the World War II
action/strategy sequel to Battlestations: Midway is planned for Friday. A
playable demo was released a couple of weeks ago, and here's word:
Redwood City, Calif. – May 12, 2009 – Eidos Interactive, Inc. and Warner
Bros. Interactive Entertainment announce that Battlestations: Pacific™ on the
Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for
Windows® LIVE launches today in North America and on May 15 in Europe.
The sequel to the critically acclaimed Battlestations: Midway™, Battlestations:
Pacific offers players the chance to relive or rewrite history with two
action-packed naval campaigns to challenge every armchair admiral. The U.S.
campaign picks up where its predecessor left off and takes players through the
key stages of the war by authentically recreating some of the grandest naval
battles of recent history. The Japanese campaign offers players a unique “what
if” scenario and the chance to change the course of history, starting from the
attack on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor and on through Asia, Australia and
beyond, expanding its empire throughout the Pacific Rim.
NCsoft and Paragon Studios
officially announce
the City of Heroes Going Rogue expansion revealed earlier,
filling in some of the details on the Bizarro-world alternate universe it will
introduce to the super-powered MMORPG. Here's a bit: In the Going Rogue
expansion, hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel
universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation
of the game’s main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the
rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise
to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their
loyalties.
City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps
players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first
time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero
archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to
experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and
decisions made by the player, will move a hero’s or villain’s moral compass,
which could eventually change the hero’s or villain’s alignment. Going Rogue
will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this
alignment shift in the game’s lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone
rogue, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.
The BlizzCon 2009 Website
has the revelation that "Grunty the murloc marine" will be the special gift for
attendees of BlizzCon 2009 or who view the BlizzCon 2009 pay-per-view on
DirecTV.
IncGamers has a small screenshot, and here's how Grunty is described: "This
tiny terror is fully armoured and comes equipped with a gauss rifle, which he’ll
occasionally fire into the air to make sure no invisible spacecraft are swooping
in to attack." Also, the
BlizzCon 2009 has first details on some of the panels being conducted at the
event.
The City of Heroes Website
now features a new "Going Rogue" trailer showing off a planned expansion that
will add an alternate "mirror" world to City of Heroes, the super-powered
MMORPG. Prepare your mind to be blown in Going Rogue, where good is bad, up is
down, and Spock wears a dashing Van Dyke. The whole dealie is said to be coming
soon. Thanks
Kotaku.
A post on the
Firefly Studios Website that looks like it's from over a month ago, offers
the modding tools for Stronghold Crusader, saying these are the same
tools they used in creation of the construction and strategy game. Included is a
castle template editor to allow the creation of AI castle templates, a text
compiler tool which can change all the text in the game, a bmp to tgx convertor,
to convert images into the graphics format used in Stronghold Crusader, as well
as all their bmp files to play with. They also provide a
modding tools guide, and
a post from yesterday saying winning entries from a custom castle
competition will be posted on their site for download sometime today.
EA
adopts new bonus scheme on GamesIndustry.biz outlines a new bonus program
being implemented by Electronic Arts intended to reward productive employees.
There are various factors involved in giving bonuses to select employees, but in
special cases involving CEO approval, these bonuses can theoretically max out at
300% of an employee's base salary.
Eidos president talks Arkham, Thief, Hitman, Tomb Raider and lots more on
GamingIndians.com is a Q&A where the recently appointed life president of
Eidos Ian Livingstone discusses several franchises (thanks
Edge Online). Along the way he confirms IO Interactive is working on a new
Kane & Lynch game for a September release as well as a new Hitman
game, first mentioned in September, 2007, about which he says:
"It's being worked on, but there's been no announcement on the release date yet.
We haven't even announced the game yet, so everything you hear about the next
Hitman game is purely speculation at this point."
1C Company and Lesta Studio announce Empire: Time of Troubles, a
historical turn-based strategy game planned for release in the third quarter of
this year. A
Product section for the game is online with some info and screenshots, and
here's the announcement: MOSCOW - May 12, 2009 - Leading Eastern and
Central European publisher 1C Company and Lesta Studio today announced the
development of Empire: Time of Troubles. Empire is a turn-based, historical
strategy game which covers the events of 1350-1650 taking place in Russia,
Poland and the Great Lithuanian Princedom. Players will find themselves in a
large-scale campaign commanding one of 26 warring factions. By controlling a
hero character, and improving their skills in battle, the player can win wars
and rule their state any way they wish.
Empire: Time of Troubles allows players to have a well thought-out and
historically accurate system of building and assigning labor forces in cities, a
large selection of scenario based and random missions, an expansive and
realistic technology tree, more than 150 types of military units and beautiful
graphics and animations which bring the war to life.
Empire: Time of Troubles is scheduled for release on PC in 2009. Please find
more information about the game at
http://www.1cpublishing.eu/game/empire-time-of-troubles
Features:
- Large-scale military campaign where the player can turn a small principality
into a large and powerful empire
- 3D strategy map of Eastern Europe from 1350-1650 with authentic landscape and
military units
- 26 factions to control: Russian, Polish and Lithuanian princedoms, lands of
the Knight Orders and Eastern European monarchies
- Political, economic and role playing systems showing the intricacies of
diplomacy and wars in medieval Europe
- Dozens of famous historical personalities and hundreds of game characters,
each with their own unique specialties including rulers, commanders, priests,
alchemists and spies
The Dawn Of War II Website
says to expect the new version 1.3 patch for Relic's RTS sequel at 11:00 am
Pacific Standard (Daylight) Time, which is 2:00 pm EDT. In the meantime, they
offer the patch notes
for our perusal.
Bruckheimer to launch video game studio has more on previously
revealed plans for Jerry Bruckheimer's game studio. Word is they've hired a
couple of new presidents for a studio in Santa Monica, CA: Jay Cohen, formerly
of Ubisoft, as president of development, and Jim Veevaert, who was executive
producer on Halo 3, as president of production.
The Brief Long
History of DNF- Post-3D Realms Edition on Shacknews recaps the known history
of development of Duke Nukem Forever. They also
talk with Take-Two
about their DNF publishing deal, getting a clarification that while Take Two has
no ownership of any Duke IP, they have exclusive publishing rights (not just a
right of first-refusal), which will never expire to Duke Nukem Forever, even if
it seems unlikely the game will actually ever be completed.
Gamasutra - PC Game Piracy- Why Bother With DRM?
"I definitely believe this is all the result of a change in the public
perception of DRM, a sort of grass roots uprising," observes Ron Carmel,
co-founder of San Francisco-based developer 2D Boy. "Gamers are much more
vocal about it than they used to be, perhaps because they are so accustomed
to downloading music without too many restrictions." Carmel believes that
the extent to which a game is pirated is approximately the same whether it
uses any of the DRM technologies or not. If it is that ineffective, he asks,
why use it at all?
My other cleaning project of the weekend was giving the grill the once-over.
This included putting the cast iron grills in the oven for a self-cleaning to
take off a few rusty spots before re-seasoning them. This turns out to make a
hellacious mess in the oven for the sake of saving the $25.00 a new set of grates
would cost, but I'm obviously enjoying my manual efforts in these jobs. This is
especially evidenced by the two hours I spent scrubbing the warming rack with
steel wool to get a layer of crud off. That was from a lesson learned the
first time I used the smoker; which is to take out the warming rack unless you
want to smoke that as well (and they don't really turn out as good as ribs).
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