Archived News:
PC.IGN.com has conducted a new interview on Project Entropia, and as usual MindArk's Patric Sundström is the designated interviewee to talk about this upcoming MMORPG. Patric explains the game's backstory and objectives, discusses some of the features that aim to make it stand out from other massively multiplayer offerings, and mentions their plans for the imminent beta test, among other topics. Half a dozen new screenshots are also included.
Also on PC.IGN.com this evening is a new Startopia preview, looking ahead to the 3D strategy game that is expected to be released next month. Nearly twenty new screenshots accompany the article, which describes what you're supposed to do when you're in control of the game's space station, and offers gameplay impressions on how that turns out in practice.
GameSpot has posted a video of Sigma: the Adventures of Rex Chance, showing off the 3D real-time strategy game in the works at Relic Entertainment that centers around mutated animals. Microsoft product manager Christopher Lye takes a virtual tour through the game in close to nine minutes of footage that is available as a whopping 90 MB download or several streaming formats.
Also on GameSpot today is their Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition Preview that looks ahead to the imminent re-release of Creative Assembly's 3D RTS, including the Mongol Invasion expansion pack that will be released separately in Europe. The article offers an overview of the updated game and its new features, illustrated with nearly two dozen new screenshots.
- Age of Mythology
Ensemble Studios has released a new Age of Mythology screenshot (the fifth image from the left in the scrolling thumbnail bar), but as the page doesn't work well in all browsers, here are direct links to the low-res and high-res images.
- Jedi Outcast
In case you missed the update to our earlier story (story), GameSpot has posted high-resolution versions of the first five Jedi Outcast screenshots that were released this morning.
- World War III
JoWood Productions has posted half a dozen new World War III screenshots divided evenly between in-game and cinematic images of the 3D RTS that was originally to be published by TopWare until that publisher folded (thanks GameSpyDaily).
- Blue Shift
GameSpyDaily itself has posted nine new screenshots of Half-Life: Blue Shift which they captured from a gold copy of the imminent standalone episode by Gearbox Software.
- Jumpgate
And also on PlanetGSD are six new Jumpgate screenshots, offering more galactic scenes in the massively multiplayer space sim by NetDevil.
GameSpot has posted a couple of brief but hands-on previews of games that will be published by Cryo in Europe and DreamCatcher in the US. The articles on From Dusk Till Dawn, the third-person action game by GameSquad based on the 1996 movie, and Frank Herbert's Dune, the third-person adventure based on the works of said author, both offer brief gameplay impressions from the demos they saw, but no new screenshots.
The Global Warfare site now offers a beta version 1.0 Linux server for download. Global Warfare is a team-based multiplayer Half-Life mod with a variety of objectives and gameplay modes, and the server takes 35.2 MB to download. The client release is expected on Saturday June 2, and in the mean time a couple movie clips are available that show the mod in action. Update: The server download has been removed pending investigation of a possible crash bug.
Here are a couple of Gangsters 2 related tid bits for you this afternoon. BarrysWorld
has conducted an
interview with John Stapleton, the marketing manager on the game, who explains
how this game differs from its predecessor. Also, GameSpot
UK has posted 27 screenshots, some of which are new, some of which are not.
Games Domain has posted a new preview of Nexagon: the Pit, the 3D action strategy game in the works at Strategy First. The preview describes the game's premise that centers around futuristic prisoner gladiators, examines the graphics, interface, camera system and "sanctum" editor in a pre-alpha build, and comes with half a dozen new screenshots.
Also on Games Domain this afternoon is a preview of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, looking ahead to BioWare's upcoming isometric RPG expansion pack by way of a beta build. The article has their impressions of the pack's features and gameplay, and seven new screenshots illustrate the proceedings.
Regardless of what's going on at ION Storm's Dallas office, ION Storm Austin is
moving ahead with their three announced projects, one of which is the subject
of a Q&A
with Warren Spector at Computer and Video Games. Warren talks about their
Playstation 2 port of Deus Ex, explaining what the challenges are in moving the
game to a console system, and he also explains why their next two projects (Thief
3 and Deus Ex 2) will both be "multi-platform" and appear on both consoles
and PCs.
The confusion over the future of ION Storm's Dallas office continues, today,
as AVault has revised
their original news story, removing the "before Eidos shuts down operations. Although the design studio will be closed, the final date has not been determined."
part, and changing their headline to read, "Sources Dispute Reports."
Also, Anachronox designer Tom Hall has updated
his .plan, saying simply, "We're finishing Anachronox soon, and it's
going well." As to whether or not ION Dallas really is closing, AVault's
revisions may suggest that's not the case, but Shacknews (who broke the initial
story that started all of this) has updated
their story saying that, "We are aware of sites trying to dispute the
story. We stand by it" as well as a second update that suggests Eidos'
lousy financial situation is the cause of all of this.
Jim "Rellik" McDougald won an auction to visit id Software, and
he has written up a report
that's online over at NewDoom.com. The article contains his description
of everything he saw at id, including a brief description of the DOOM engine,
about which Jim says, "don't be fooled by the movie from the Tokyo Mac
show, in person the game looks much better."
Proving that sticking your neck out on release dates remains a tricky business, the official Black & White site has word that the first patch for Lionhead's god-playing game is delayed again from its promised release today. While programming on the patch is complete (now also incorporating enhanced support for the Pentium 4), it is still undergoing testing and the patch will now only be released after QA approval from Electronic Arts. More information is expected next week. Thanks GamersRevolt for the tip.
Westwood's 3D RTS is due in stores early next month, but GameSpot UK still found time to post one more Emperor: Battle for Dune preview. The article is based on a near-complete build and while there is little in the way of new information (and no new screenshots), it provides a decent overview of what to expect from the game when it is released.
Planet Star Trek: Armada has conducted a new interview on Star Trek: Armada II, grilling lead artist Peter Calabria about this space strategy sequel currently docking at Mad Doc Software. Peter talks about how he got started in the game industry, his contributions to the game at hand, some of the new races and new ship designs, and how they're trying to balance new artwork with that inherited from the original game.
Tolstiy's Place has conducted an
interview with Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software. The questions deal almost
exclusively with Half-Life: Blue Shift, Gearbox' soon-to-be-released title,
and unfortunately it appears that the interview was conducted before the news
that the Dreamcast port of Half-Life has been canceled ( story).
Randy even refers to the product a couple of times, so whether or not it really
has been canceled remains up in the air (although we have received many letters
from retailers that confirm the game has been yoinked from any lists and pre-orders
have been refunded).
PC Zone has posted a
new preview of Galleon, the third person action/adventure title from Confounding
Factor, a company started by Toby Gard, the creator of Tomb Raider. The preview
contains quotes from Toby about the design, controls and puzzle elements, and
Toby says that while it will be initially released for the Xbox, Gamecube and
PC versions will be released afterwards. The screenshots appear to be new, however
the gameplay movie has already been available elsewhere ( story).
Belgian site SpelletjesGarnaal has posted a new video of Anarchy Online in which they interview Funcom lead programmer Martin Amor who demonstrates the latest version of their futuristic MMORPG. The ShakyCam video is indeed shaky but offers decent image and audio quality and runs for more than 16 minutes in streaming Windows Media Player format, while Martin explains some of the latest features in the ongoing beta test.
Following up on the story from earlier today about the closing of ION Storm's
Dallas studio ( story), AVault
has confirmed with John Romero that Eidos will in fact be closing the studio
- it just hasn't happened yet. No date is given, but AVault's news item also
debunks the earlier report that Anachronox is already in duplication, saying
that development "continues at an accelerated rate" on the game, and
that the team is "putting in long hours to complete the game before Eidos
shuts down operations."
The Excalibur
interview at GameSurge talks with Ken Turner, the project director on this
upcoming action game from Auran. Ken talks about the game's overall concept,
their plans for multiplayer, how players will be able to customize their characters,
and more.
A new edition of the
TORN developer's diary at GameSpy.com is online today. This latest installment
doesn't really deal much with the status of the game, but rather has the different
team members talking about their experience at the recent E3 Expo.
Shacknews is reporting
that ION Storm Dallas has been shut down, and that Anachronox, their long-in-development
RPG, is already in duplication (although what shape the game is in remains a
mystery). They cite unnamed sources close to ION, and they also say that ION
Storm Austin, Warren Spector's studio that is currently working on Thief 3 and
Deus Ex 2 will continue to operate as usual. Expect more on this story later
today.
News of games ready, or nearly ready to roll (an even mix, with one to be
late, one on time, and the rare "early" game): A
post to the VN messageboards (thanks Dimensions of Arcanum)
has word that in an unusual twist, the ship date for Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
has been moved up to August 21, and the RPG from Troika Games and Sierra Studios is now expected in stores a few
days after that. Meanwhile, word on Gone Gold
is that Star Trek: Dominion Wars is set to go gold within the next ten days,
which means the Trekkie strategy game's planned "early June" release is still a
possibility. Finally, word from Codemasters is that Operation Flashpoint, their
cold war shooter, will be shipping to Europe in early June, but that the North
American release is being held off until September to add "additional
multiplayer capabilities, including dedicated server functionality and enhanced
network code." They also promise a free upgrade for the European version
that adds these additional features, to be released "around the time the
U.S. version ships."
There is a batch of Jedi Outcast
screenshots on GamesFirst as part of their quick preview
of Star Wars: Jedi Outcast - Jedi Knight II offering just about the first
in-game shots showing off what Raven Software is doing with the Quake III engine
for the upcoming sequel to Jedi Knight (and Dark Forces). In a semi-related
note, the just-launched JediKnight II.Net has posted a rundown
on who at Raven is currently involved in the project.
Update: GameSpot has posted the same five shots in a much higher resolution, in case size matters for you.
The Action Vault's AquaNox Interview
is online, chatting it up with Alexander Jorias, the managing director of
Massive Development to learn what they can about progress on AquaNox, Massive's
upcoming action game that will feature all manner of undersea combat. The
article catches up with a lot of the game's general background, and goes on to
delve into detail about various aspects of gameplay, including interactivity,
multiplayer capabilities, the interface, and more. Also included are four new
AquaNox screenshots.
A report on Voodoo Extreme
announces the cancellation of the PS2 port of Undying, the Clive Barker horror
game. Also, PSO Version 2 to incorporate online payment system
is GameSpot's report that "Phantasy Star Online Version 2 will incorporate
an online payment structure," while going on to assure users that the
original PSO will remain free to play. Meanwhile, the bleem!
website has word that the next project to be shoehorned into the doomed
Dreamcast system by their emulation software is none other than Metal Gear Solid
(thanks IGN), while in
further MGS-related news, Core Magazine
features Konami producer Hideo Kojima going on record to discuss the sequel
based on the new Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer that was unveiled at E3. Also, there
are some
new New Legends screenshots on GameSpot showing off THQ's upcoming action
game for the Xbox. Additionally, there are some
first impressions of Commander Keen for the GBC on The Adrenaline Vault.
Finally, a report on Planet GameCube
gives Nintendo's position on emulation, saying that "Having an emulated ROM
of a game, whether you own it or not, is illegal" (period).
Registration for the upcoming Recon 2000 LAN
event in the Washington D.C. Capital Expo Center only remains open for one
more week.
A new MechWarrior 4: Vengeance
FAQ is online, offering word on available patches and known problems, as
well as Qs and As on multiplayer settings, a gameplay issue involving friendly
fire and high explosives, and more.
The chUmbaLum sOft
website has a new version 1.5.6 of the MilkShape3D editing program. Thanks Voodoo Extreme.
After sorting through the various bits of expertise I received about my 'holes in the
yard' situation that I mentioned yesterday, I'm pretty comfortable with the
explanation that several folks (including my brother) sent along saying that my
"gophers" are probably skunks. I've been told that the skunk
population is quite high around here (in fact at one point I was told that this
was why we did not have raccoons in the area, but the person who said that
apparently never met the raccoon that lives in the tree next door), and that
skunks do indeed dig for grubs. I've also been told that if you aren't willing
to poison the grubs that are the skunk's food supply, you basically need to
resign yourself to a life of filling in holes. I guess this all comes under the
heading of getting what you paid for, since I know one of the reasons I wanted a
house with a backyard was to get a little slice of nature. Now I just have to
wonder when the first time Hudson the wonder dog, who fears no beast of this
earth, will end up coming home in need of a tomato bath.
Link of the Day: The
Bushy Tailed Rat (thanks RVF400RR). Following today's varmint theme.
Story of the Day: Forget flowers - hi-tech is a turn-on
(Ananova). Thanks Ant.
Weird Science: License to thrill New Army vehicle worthy of 007.
Thanks Chris Johnson.
Follow-up: Saddam accused of stealing artwork
(BBC). Thanks Frottage. It's the cover art on what is purported to be his novel
(story).
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