Archived News:
Luckily Texas seems just a hair southwest of the blackout, so there's another couple of DOOM
3 multiplayer previews on GameSpot, IGN
and Computer and Video Games
based on what they've gotten to see of the shooter at QuakeCon (there are also
some QuakeCon Pics on
HomeLAN Fed). Here's a bit from IGN: You'll find it's much harder to
hit your enemies in this game than in the previous ones. No longer does a single
hit box surround your opponents. Now all hits have to be scored on the actual
polygons of the character models. Todd explains that this is a natural evolution
for action games given the increasing skill of players. As they get better,
targets have to get smaller to compensate. While fighting you'll find that
bullets can pass in between a character's legs or the space between their torso
and arms without damaging them. You'll need to be much more accurate now with
each of your shots. Still, it's not too hard to score kills, particularly if
you're playing against a bunch of journalists operating on two hours of sleep
and a three-whiskey breakfast.
Call of Duty Updated Hands-On Impressions
on GameSpot based on playing with Infinity Ward's upcoming World War II
shooter at QuakeCon. Here's a bit describing the impressive impression created
by their encounter with the dreaded King Tiger tank: The tank itself
suffered from an extremely limited field of vision, but each time we wandered in
front of it, it would open fire, and as we headed back to the church, it turned
and gave chase, firing an enormous shell that left us
"shell-shocked"--a visual effect that causes your onscreen vision to
blur and muffles the game's sound with a simulated ringing in your ears. Because
the King Tiger and its ordnance were so close, the effect was especially severe
and forced us into a prone position, which made creeping behind the nearest
bunker a slow and harrowing business, indeed.
An updated version of the Battle of Britain map for Battlefield 1942 is now
available. The map update preempts an issue with the map that would have arisen
upon the installation of the upcoming version 1.45 patch for the game. The 44 MB
update can be downloaded from EA's FTP,
3D Gamers,
FileFront,
and Gamer's
Hell.
The Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
Website is now live (thanks Gamer's
Hell) and Gathering sends word that the Railroad Tycoon 3
Website has also now launched.
Kuma Reality Games Targets Broadband Subscribers with New Gaming Concept
is the press release unveiling plans for Kuma: War, first of the "Reality
Games" from Kuma Reality Games that will feature weekly episodic content.
Here's a bit from the announcement, which is accompanied by a few
screenshots: "Kuma’s first gaming franchise, Kuma: War, is a subscription product
that will be available through both traditional software outlets and high speed
access providers upon its launch in February 2004. In each harrowing mission of
Kuma: War, consumers will be briefed with real world news reporting, KH-11
satellite imagery and expansive intelligence provided by a decorated team of
military veterans to truly pull gamers into missions based on real-world news.
First-person tactical and vehicle-based games are updated weekly and
automatically downloaded to the consumer’s computer to reflect unfolding
events in the real world. Kuma will be expanding its content offerings beyond
Kuma: War into other reality segments such as sports, crime and celebrity."
With QuakeCon getting underway, there are some QuakeCon Doom
3 Multiplayer Impressions on HomeLAN Fed describing the multiplayer action
on tap at the show. Since some of the first comments on the story below concern
physics, here is what this update has to say on the subject: "Rag doll
physics was in evidence during the Doom III multiplayer demo, including objects
like boxes and barrels that could be moved by weapons fire and a dead body
hanging from the ceiling during one portion of the level that could also be
moved by weapons fire. Some glass windows could also be smash but unlike most
glass in games the window didn’t shatter all at once but rather in pieces."
There's a DOOM 3
preview on Eurogamer (thanks Frans) offering some fresh first-hand
impressions of id Software's upcoming shooter. Here's a bit describing the
environment in which the game takes place, showing that the game's Martian dome
features the same light bulb glass construction as the one in Total Recall: Seeing
as you're on the hostile planet of Mars, you won't want to puncture the base,
unless you fancy a quick death. Hollenshead revealed that if you do happen to
shatter one of the complex's windows it creates a vacuum, forcing the area to
automatically seal off from the rest of the base. Eeek. And with all the
shooting you're going to be doing, what are the chances of not sending a stray
bullet through the windows at some stage?
A new XIII movie is now available, showing off more of the cel-shaded
Unreal-engine gameplay in Ubi Soft's upcoming shooter. The movie can be
downloaded from Ubi
Soft's FTP and the mirrors on IGN
and Worthplaying.
Also, a new Warrior Kings: Battles movie has been released, and can be
downloaded from Video Game Insider and Worthplaying.
There's also a new Game Tycoon trailer showing off the upcoming tycoon game that
allows you to design tycoon games, available from the
official website (thanks Tiscali Games) and Worthplaying.
- Hidden
& Dangerous 2
The Hidden
& Dangerous 2 on Computer and Video Games talks with Luke Vernon of
Gathering about H&D2, Illusion Softworks' upcoming "sequel to
comedy bug-ridden but ultimately well-received Hidden & Dangerous."
Thanks Frans.
- Imperator
Camelot Vault's
Imperator Q&A chats with Mark Jacobs of Mythic Entertainment who
answers some general questions about Imperator, their upcoming Roman-themed
MMORPG.
- Conan
HomeLAN
Fed's Conan Game Q&A talks with Cauldron's Michal Smrkal to learn
more about progress on their upcoming action game based on the fictional
barbarian.
- Pirates of the Burning Sea
GameGossip's
Pirates of the Burning Sea Q&A talks with Flying Lab Software's
Taylor Danes about their upcoming pirate-themed MMORPG.
- TRON 2.0
Action Vault's
TRON 2.0 Q&A #1 asks the folks at Monolith the following group
question about their latest project: "From your personal point of view,
what are a few you consider particularly interesting or special about TRON
2.0, and why?"
- The Biz
XGR's James Hills
Q&A talks with James about CyPR Media, and their work marketing independent
games and their support for the indie gaming scene in general. Also, HomeLAN
Fed's Oteeva Q&A chats with Robert Westmoreland about plans for this
new publishing company.
- Misc.
HomeLAN Fed's Mutant Storm
Q&A talks with PomPom Games about their Robotron-inspired arcade
game. Also, Codename:
Gordon Q&A on Doupe.cz talks with X-Tender, one of the developers of
the Codename: Gordon 2D side-scrolling game based on the Half-Life lead.
ATI Wins Xbox Deal from Nvidia, Stock Up:
"ATI Technologies Inc. (Toronto: ATY.TO
- news)
said on Thursday it struck a deal with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT
- news)
to develop graphics technology for its next generation Xbox ( news
- web
sites) video game console, dealing a blow to rival Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA
- news)."
Thanks Peter Binazeski. Also, Namco Hometek sends word that the countdown has
begun for the release of Soul Calibur II for all major console systems on August
26.
Gamestop.com has
details on the settlement of a class-action lawsuit that is punishing them for
remarketing games as new after they've been returned. You (or your lawyer) can
look over the post to see if you have something coming to you as a result of
this action. Thanks GameGossip.
The Chariots of War
Website has a new version 1.14 beta patch for Slitherine's strategy game
(thanks Frans). Word is: "This is a Beta patch and as such is still under
testing & we are still adding features & fixes."
The United Cyber Games Association (UCGA) sends word that the World Cyber Games
2003 USA Finals will be held from August 19th - August 20th at the Irvine
Spectrum in Irvine, California. More details on the proceedings can be found on the
competition's official website. Also, the festivities are getting underway
at QuakeCon 2003, as noted in Todd
Hollenshead's .plan.
Game Developer's 2003 Game Career Guide is now available at most major
newsstands and bookstores, as well as by download from the Gamasutra
Website.
The 2015 Website has
information on a bunch of job openings for which they are currently
recruiting.
When discussing the sidewalk grass yesterday with my buddy Devicer, he mentioned
that my original thought on this was actually a reality, and that they sell
flame throwers for just such an occasion!! These things are cheap,
propane-powered, and some put out in excess of 1,000,000(!) B.T.U.s. The neat
thing is that they can also be used in the winter on icy sidewalks (and I'm
thinking they can also melt glass or provide heat for group camping trips to
Pluto).
I couldn't recall the ad that was making the sound that needed to be killed,
it's the noisy backpack ad... I'll look at getting the kibosh on that today.
I'll also follow-up on the noisy Telco ad (since that is local in Canada I'm
not sure how readily that can be addressed).
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