Obsidian's Chris Avellone indicated that Obsidian just missed a bonus for
Fallout: New Vegas, reports
Joystiq, saying this came in a tweet from a
no longer existent account, allegedly saying: "[Fallout: New Vegas] was a straight payment, no royalties, only a bonus if we got an 85+ on Metacritic, which we didn't." Sure enough, the game currently sits at 84 on
Metacritic. They also note
their report of layoffs at Obsidian, though these are still unconfirmed. Thanks nin.
Rockstar Games now offers a new video from
Max Payne 3 showcasing the upcoming third-person shooter sequel with a new installment in their Design and Technology Series. This covers visual effects and cinematics, and they say this "focuses on what makes Max Payne 3 a uniquely cinematic action game thanks to a series of presentation innovations that move the game seamlessly from cutscene to gunplay and from one chapter to the next, resulting in an immersive experience that keeps the player locked in Max's dark and twisted story."
The counter has reached zero on the
Baldur's Gate Website, which has resulted in load their server is not up to, so a little patience is required to visit right now.
The announcement they were counting down to is that work is underway on Enhanced Editions of
Baldur's Gate and
Baldur's Gate II, which are being overhauled by
Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog (apologies for arigially writing that as "Moondog"). Details are still scant, though
Gamer's Hell points the way to
tweets by Beamdog's Trent Oster adding that
clarifying that there will be separate Enhanced Editions for BG1 and BG2, that
Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition will include the Tales of the Sword Coast Expansion, and
they are very interested in supporting the mod community. He
also states they are looking at releasing the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition this summer.
The
Indie Royale Website now offers details on their promised St. Patrick's Day Bundle. The initial contents of the bundle are
Hard Reset,
Jolly Rover,
Vertex Dispenser, and
DLC Quest as well as bonuses
Lair of the Evildoer and
Vertex Vortex Remix Cortex. The way this works is you can buy early and get the price before it rises, or pay more than the minimum, and knock the price down for your underlings.
Blizzard announces a May 15th release date for
Diablo III, saying this is when the action/RPG sequel will be available at retail in many territories, and digitally in others. They have kicked off presales of the game on
this page, offering the game in either form, as well as in a USD $99.99 alabaster-white retail Collector's Edition. They also offer a reminder that a free copy of the game is to be had for those who sign up for a
World of Warcraft annual pass. Here's word:
In Diablo III, players take on the role of one of five heroic characters -- barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk, or demon hunter -- and engage in pulse-pounding combat with endless legions of evil. As they undertake an epic quest to rid Sanctuary from the corrupting forces of the Burning Hells, players will explore diverse and perilous settings, grow in experience and ability, acquire artifacts of incredible power, and meet key characters who’ll join them in battle or aid them in other ways.
Diablo III was built from the ground up to leverage the full functionality of the Battle.net platform, which delivers powerful matchmaking and communication tools, allowing adventurers to seamlessly join forces for exciting cooperative play. Battle.net also provides a secure infrastructure for the Diablo III auction house, a feature-rich marketplace that Sanctuary’s heroes can use to trade their hard-earned treasures. Players will be able to buy and sell weapons, armor, and other valuable items in the auction house in exchange for in-game gold. Players will also have the option to receive real-world currency for auction house sales, which they can apply to their Battle.net Balance for the purchase of a variety of digital products through Battle.net, including Diablo III auction house items, or cash out through a third-party payment service such as PayPal™ in most regions. Further details related to the auction house will be announced in the coming weeks.
EA announces the launch of open beta testing of
Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, a free-to-play strategy game set in the C&C universe that can be played in a web-browser. Here's the deal:
Players harvest valuable resources, foster strategic alliances and engage in relentless battles as they strive for world domination. With in-game news and status feeds, players get frequent updates, creating a completely interactive and dynamic gameplay experience that has gamers strategizing, reacting, and adapting on the spot. The Open Beta goes live today globally at www.tiberiumalliances.com.
Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances breaks new ground by being the first free-to-play cross-platform, MMO strategy game. In the next few months, the game will offer cloud-saved data, accessible across web browsers and mobile devices, allowing gamers to play from home at their desktop or on the go from their smartphones or tablets.
Beware the Ides of March. They certainly were not good to Julius Caesar, and they also have brought bad tidings to
Mike D'Antoni,
Mets ownership, and
David Milch fans. It also seems to have brought some bad mojo to the server here, as we suffered outages yesterday afternoon, and in the wee hours of this morning. A further complication of this is an error that persisted afterwards breaking the forums, but Frans gamely clambered into the Jefferies tube to address this, and things seem to be back to normal now. Apologies for the downtime and a hearty thanks to Frans for his timely assistance.
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