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Archived News:
A playable demo of Mafia is now available via Gigex,
and the magic of their resumable download client, offering a playable sample of
Illusion Softworks' organized crime game. The demo is a 230 MB
download, and following information is offered: "The Mafia demo contains a
single mission taken from the full game. The first time the demo is run you will
need to configure the game settings, after saving and exiting run the demo from
the desktop shortcut or Start Menu. Please do not contact Gathering of
Developers, Take 2 Interactive or Illusion Softworks for technical support for
the Mafia demo." The demo is mirrored on 3D Gamers, FileShack (registration required) and Gamer's Hell.
Blue's News The Elder Scrolls III Tribunal Goes Gold
is word that Bethesda Softworks' Morrowind add-on is complete, and should be
arriving in North American stores late next week. Here's part of the description
of the game from the press release: "In Tribunal, a ruthless new king has
taken the throne of Morrowind, while an aging god drifts deeper into madness.
Into this chaos you are thrust, with deadly assassins close behind you and
Morrowind's uncertain future ahead. Your journey will lead you to Mournhold,
capital city of Morrowind, to the Clockwork City of Sotha Sil, and through
massive, epic-sized dungeons."
Celebrating the release of Project Nomads in the U.K., CDV has released a video
showing off gameplay from Radon Labs' action/RPG, which is due in North America
soon. The movie is a 38 MB download, and has been posted on Computer Games Online.
Meanwhile, there's an
AquaNox 2: Revelation movie on GameSurf showing off "Eine komplette Mission"
from Massive Development's upcoming underwater shooter sequel for a 31 MB
download.
GameSpyDaily is reporting that
Hegemonia, Digital Reality's upcoming outer-space real-time strategy game, has
gone gold. The expected in-store date provided is November 14.
GameSpy.com's
Platoon Preview offers impressions of Platoon, Digital Reality's upcoming
Vietnam War strategy game that now bears the license of Oliver Stone's
Oscar-winning movie of the same name. They introduce the main character, the
setting of the 1st Airborne Cavalry Division's action between 1965 and 1968, how
playing the game creates an attachment to the troops under your command, skills
of your squad, issuing orders, the controls and interface, and more.
New
World Order Gone Gold is today's first announcement of another game that is
complete in time for the desirable holiday sales season. Word on availability of
Termite Games' counter-terrorism tactical first-person shooter is that it "will
show up on European shelves by mid November with other territories to follow
shortly after." Here's their description of that's on tap here: "Built
on in-house developed next generation technology New World Order tells the
modern tale of the battle between the united terrorist factions called The
Syndicate and the anti-terrorist squad who have a mandate to track them down
anywhere in the world, the Global Assault Team. Players can take on The
Syndicate as a new member of the GAT named John Dobbs in lone wolf missions in
singleplayer mode or battle it out with their teams in 5 multiplayer modes on a
LAN or the internet."
The Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings Preview
on GameSpot takes a look at Turbine Entertainment's upcoming MMORPG sequel.
They discuss how some of the issues faced by online RPGs are being addressed by
efforts at alleviating bottlenecks and how players will completely reshape the
game's environment, as well as other gameplay stuff like exploring the huge
underground vaults, the addition of an alignment system, PvP-free "safe
areas," how the beta seems to be coming together, and more.
A new patch for Arx Fatalis is now available, updating Arkane Studios' RPG to
version 1.14. The patch improves overall stability, NPC balance, and EAX sound
card compatibility and addresses some minor bugs. The patch is available
for the English, French,
and German
versions of the game.
Simulated
Sniping: Army Recruits Teens With Internet Game (thanks Dave Lepore) has
signs of what could be considered the expected fallout from America's Army:
Operations, the Unreal-engine army recruiting tool, spurred at least in part by
recent events in light of the game's inclusion of a "sniper school."
The article includes responses from the U.S. Army to criticisms of the game,
which are outlined in the following bit, which includes the threat of an
injunction against the game: Jack Thompson, a father and a Miami attorney
is fighting the Pentagon. He says it's wrong for the military to unleash this
game on America's youth.
"I'm a father of a 10-year-old boy," Thompson says. "And every
day I drop him off at school, I know that he's at greater risk because some of
his classmates, as well as others in the general population, train obsessively
in these shooter games."
Thompson, who has represented the parents of children killed in school
shootings, says he will file an injunction in federal court next week, if the
Army doesn't pull the plug.
- Eschaton Online
GameSpyDaily's
Eschaton Online Q&A talks with Gnostic Labs’ Travis Cannell about
their upcoming persistent state space game. Topics include the type of
activities players can engage in, their meld of genres, playing as a pirate,
the chain of command, dealing with griefers, and more.
- Tribunal
RPG Vault's The Elder Scrolls III Tribunal
Q&A chats with Bethsoft designer Mark Nelson about the upcoming
Morrowind expansion pack. Topics include goals for the add-on, the new areas
being introduced, new dungeons, creatures, armor and weapons, and more.
- Lionheart
There's a
Lionheart Q&A on BonusWeb.cz talking with Ion Hardie of Reflexive
Entertainment about Lionheart, their upcoming RPG. They discuss the setting
and story, research, races, character creation and advancement, skills,
perks, weapons, and more.
- They Came From Hollywood
UGO.com's
They Came From Hollywood Q&A talks with Octopus Motor's Lars
Norpchen and "Sparky" about their upcoming tongue-in-cheek horror
game.
- Age of Wonders II
Age of Wonders II Heaven's AoW2 Music
Q&A features an extensive conversation with Mason B. Fisher,
composer of the music in AoW2, along with two music samples, a piece of
sheet music, as well as step-by-step instructions for importing AoW1 music
into AoW2.
- IndieGamesCon 2002
GameSpyDaily
IndieGamesCon 2002 Q&A talks with Jay Moore of Garage Games about
the three day independent games conference that's just kicking off.
- Bikini Karate Babes
The Bikini Karate Babes
Q&A on Gamer's Hell chats with Travis Riggs of Creative Edge Studios
about their soft-core combat game, discussing the idea, the
"story," the game characters, and more.
XGR Previews IGI2: Covert Strike
with a look at Innerloop's upcoming stealthy shooter sequel. They describe the
return of David Jones as the player's character, the ten missions that will span
three continents, weapons, improvements over the original game's AI, the
importance of stealth and observation, sound and graphics, and more.
There's an Enclave Preview
on GameSpot with a look at the upcoming PC port of Enclave, the fantasy
hack-n-slash shooter that's already made its debut on the Xbox. They discuss the
story, how (unlike the game on the Xbox) PC users will be allowed to select from
both the light and the dark campaign right from the start, melee combat, the
improved save system, playable characters, ranged attacks, weapons, the
higher-resolution graphics than the console version, and more. Also, there's a
short Enclave Q&A
on Computer and Video Games
talking with Niko Kyriakidis about plans for the port, offering an overview of
the game, the deal on this light and dark stuff, characters, the implementation
of difficulty levels, missions, economics, and more.
There's a Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse special on GameSpy.com focusing on this upcoming
"mature-rated" game from 3DO that pits a fallen angel against the
biblical harbingers of Armageddon. Their extravaganza offers a preview,
an exclusive Simon Bisley
interview, screenshots,
concept
art, character
renders, set
renders, exclusive
art, and an exclusive Four Horsemen
movie. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
movie on Games Domain offers a mirror of the movie that does not require
FilePlanet registration, and on the final related note, the official Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Website is now online.
3D Realms co-owner George Broussard updated
his .plan with a help wanted ad for some environmental artists. Applicants
"must be at least 18 years old, a US citizen, and willing to relocate to
Garland, Texas." Also, the Artifact
Entertainment Website has added a world developer position to the various
job offerings they have listed.
- The Adventure Company sends word that they've shipped The Cameron Files:
Pharaoh's Curse, the second installment in The Cameron Files series, which
transports gamers to Egypt to investigate an ancient curse...
- This RealOne Games Channel
now offers a new alternative way to purchase Strange Adventures in Infinite
Space...
It was a pleasant, if quiet Halloween around these parts (though I should
reserve comment on the quietness until I've had a better chance to check the
outside for eggs and shaving cream and such). This is clearly Hudson the wonder
dog's favorite holiday, as she assumes all the folks showing up at the door are
here to see her. For the second year in a row she wore a costume for the
occasion, this time she was a baseball player, and she seemed to delight the
visiting youngsters more than the candy we were offering.
Happy Birthday to MamaBlue, the best mom a guy could ask for. ![=]](/miscimages/smiley4.gif)
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