Archived News:
The City of Heroes Website
Gameplay Section has been updated with information on the different zones in
Paragon city, the setting of City of Heroes, Cryptic Studios' upcoming
superhero MMORPG. The update describes the nature of the City, Hazard, and Trial
zones, and provides a screenshot of each. Also, RPG
Vault's Anarchy Online Shadowlands Blueprint #6 offers details straight from
Funcom on what's included in the upcoming Anarchy Online: Shadowlands
expansion. Finally, a new PlanetSide
Producer's Letter (thanks Shacknews)
discusses new features planned for the upcoming PlanetSide: Core Combat
expansion.
IGN's
Halo Media Page now offers a bunch of streaming videos of doom showing off
the upcoming PC version of Halo, the port of Bungie's shooter in the works at
Gearbox Software. "The sniping loser of doom"... hmm, I think I have a
new gaming alias.
- Half-Life 2
There's a
Gabe Newell Q&A on Half-Life 2 Online Source (thanks HomeLAN
Fed) talking with the Valve honcho about their upcoming shooter sequel,
focusing primarily on editing concerns.
- T3: War of the Machines
The Terminator
3: War of the Machines Q&A on Gamers Depot talks with Aron Drayer
about Clever's Games' upcoming first-person shooter based on the cyborg
movie franchise. He uses the woefully underused NBA analogy to describe the
pace they seek: "We are definitely looking for a more up-tempo
experience. We're not trying to play at the pace of the Sacramento Kings
like the Unreal games, but we don't want to be the Cavs either like
Battlefield 1942."
- Darkfall
The
Darkfall Online Q&A on MMORPGDot
chats with Claus Grovdal and BT Oren about progress on this upcoming MMORPG
in the works at Razorwax.
- Lineage II
There's a
Lineage II Q&A on Rebell.at talking with David Swofford of NCSoft
about the upcoming sequel to the MMORPG that boasts over a billion
subscribers. In a related note, this
press release (thanks HomeLAN
Fed) announces plans for an animated Lineage series.
- Phantom
There's a
Phantom article on CNN.com outlining plans for this PC-based console
system and offering a brief Q&A with David Frederick, chief marketing
officer at Infinium Labs. Thanks Mike Martinez.
Leipzig
Games Convention 2003 Day One Report on Gamer's Hell has their report after
checking out the Nokia N-Gage and Vivendi's booth, including Counter-Strike:
Condition Zero, and more. Also, there's a look at Temple
of Elemental Evil on RPGDot with passing impressions of the D&D RPG from
the show.
The second half of the two part S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost trailer has been
released, showing off more of GSC Game World's upcoming first-person shooter.
The QuickTime-format movie runs just under a minute and a half, for the cost
of a 14 MB download. The movie can be found on 3D
Gamers and FileFront.
Along with the trailer, a batch of new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. screenshots have been
released, and can be found on GenGamers.
A pair of ShakyCam™ "technical" movies on Half-Life 2 have been
released, one showing off the Alyx character from the game and the other
demonstrating some what can be done in the editor with walls. The Alyx movie is
54 MB, available on FilePlanet
(registration required), FileFront,
GameCenter.cz,
and Worthplaying,
while the Walls movie is 55 MB, available on FilePlanet
(registration required), FileFront,
GameCenter.cz,
and Worthplaying.
Also, in the ongoing marketing fiasco/publicity boon (depending on your
perspective) regarding the Half-Life 2 release date, Eurogamer
has a report up from ECTS quoting Valve's Greg Coomer as saying: "it'll be
tight, but Half-Life 2 is still on for a September 30th ship."
A
forum post on Battle.net by Blizzard's GFrazier gives a status report on the
upcoming version 1.10 patch for Diablo II (thanks Ant). Here's the deal:
"We're making good progress toward the final release of Diablo II 1.10. It
is now our highest priority. Thanks for your help testing the patch. Thanks for
your patience in waiting for this patch. This is by far the largest patch we've
ever made in terms of game changes. This is about 1/2 of an expansion worth of
new content. As such it requires a lot of testing. Keep on battling."
A thread
called Unreal 2 XMP, Beta, and Mods on the Atari Forums (thanks Tiscali Games) by
Legend's Scott Dalton, outlines some details about what's planned for the
upcoming free "XMP" multiplayer add-on for Unreal II. The update
describes the three classes from which players can choose, how their skills and
abilities mesh, vehicles, scoring and goals, and more. There's also a bit about
how map and mod authors interested in participating in the process can do so: We
already have a number of mappers in the beta program who have approached us
about making new maps, and we're looking for more people who may be interested.
We'd like to work with mod makers or mappers interested in XMP to answer
questions, give tips, or help you get your work off the ground. If you're
interested in taking part in modding or mapping, please sign up for the beta
program at www.betatests.net
and email me personally at sdalton@legendent.com.
Savage The Battle for
Newerth Has Gone Gold is the press release from S2 Games and iGames
publishing with word that the real-time strategy shooter is complete, off to
manufacturing, and is scheduled to be available at retail on September 9. Here's
a bit: With the creation of a new gameplay genre, the RTSS, Savage
expertly redefines the first-person shooter and real-time strategy genres by
combining elements of both into one cohesive experience. Set in a unique fantasy
world eons from now where Humans and Beasts violently battle for their very
existence, Savage transports PC gamers to the next level in multiplayer gaming.
The result of this meld is a truly unique experience that enables the player to
opt for either the fast-paced, run-and-gun action of a FPS (playing as a
Warrior) or the more cerebral and tactical planning of a RTS (playing as a
Commander). Because Savage offers fully developed aspects of each genre, players
must work together as a team in order to defeat their opposition.
The Anarchy
Online Shadowlands Website now offers downloads of a new gameplay trailer
from the Shadowlands expansion for Anarchy Online, Funcom's MMORPG. The trailer
is available in your choice of Windows Media Player, QuickTime, or DivX formats.
Enlight Obtains Worldwide
Rights to Warlords Battlecry III (thanks Frans) has the announcement of
plans for the next installment in the RTS/RPG series, slated for release in the
second quarter of 2004. Here's a bit: Developed by members of the
original Battlecry team who evolved into Infinite Interactive, Warlords
BattleCry III will take the award-winning series to the next level. The latest
installment will feature a variety of enhancements including new terrains,
races, hero classes, and spheres of magic. To further increase gameplay depth
and flexibility, Warlords BattleCry III will also contain an innovative new hero
development system.
"As we expand our publishing activities around the world, we will increase
our efforts to identify unique brands in the market that have loyal customer
bases," said Trevor Chan, CEO of Enlight. "The Warlords Battlecry
brand is well respected and gamers around the world are eagerly awaiting this
next release. Based on Infinite Interactive's past innovations in combining the
RTS and RPG genres, we are confident that Warlords BattleCry III will be one of
the most detailed and diverse titles in the market when it is
released."
A demo of Commandos 3: Destination Berlin has been released via a magazine
coverdisk. The 272 MB download features two missions, one of them a training
scenario. Online mirrors can be found on 3D
Gamers, Computer
Games Online, FileFront,
Gamer's
Hell, IGN, Jucaushii.ro,
Loadedinc, and Worthplaying.
The 3D Gamers mirror is 31 MB smaller than the others due to the removal of the
DirectX 9 distribution the original demo included.
Following the release of the German version ( story), an English
demo for Yager is now available, offering a translated chance to sample Yager
Development's upcoming futuristic action/adventure/aerial combat game. The
demo can be found on 3D Gamers,
Computer
Games Online, FileFront,
Gamer's Hell,
Jucaushii.ro, Loadedinc,
and Worthplaying.
On the heels of the recent version 1.22 patch, there's another new Prince of Qin
patch on this Strategy
First Downloads Page updating this action RPG set in historical China to
version 1.23. Thanks Frans.
The Space Colony
Website now offers a new gameplay trailer showing off the upcoming sims in
space game. Thanks Frans. On a related note, there's a
Space Colony preview on Worthplaying. The movie can be found in the news
pop-up.
- Halo
There's a Halo
Q&A on Gamers Depot talking with Randy Pitchford in another
conversation about progress on the PC version of Halo that offers a reminder
there's yet another Halo port in the works: "The guys doing the Mac
version are using our code and working hard to make sure that Mac guys and
PC guys can play on the same servers. That should be fun to watch :)"
- Western Outlaw
HomeLAN
Fed's Western Outlaw Q&A talks with Jarhead's Bryan Ekman about
Western Outlaw, their upcoming wild western-themed first-person shooter.
- The Movies
Australia
Gamespot's The Movies Q&A catches up with James Steer of Lionhead
Studios about The Movies, their upcoming cinema simulator. Also, GameSpot has posted a
The Movies PS2 Preview. Thanks Frans.
- Sigil Games
The Sigil
Games Website (thanks Frans) has a series of developer interviews that
pose reader-submitted questions to the folks at this company devoted to
creating MMORPGs that was launched by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler.
- Starshatter
HomeLAN
Fed's Starshatter Q&A talks with Starshatter creator Milo DiCamillo
about the space strategy game and its thriving mod community.
Including the first shots from ECTS.
There are Soul
Calibur 2 Event Photos on Gaming Horizon showing off the festivities of the
game's midnight debut in New York City.
Nation’s Finest
Take Their Games on the Road to Seoul, Korea on GameZone is online, in
which: "Team USA members talk about gaming and representing their country
at the World Cyber Games."
There's an ATI Shader
Competition on Beyond3D offering a fully loaded Shuttle PC with a RADEON
256MB graphics board for the winner. Also, there's a
new DEdit FAQ on PurgeWorld with more tutelage on making levels for Purge.
- iGames' List of games
played in their centers in July shows BF1942: Road to Rome edging past
Half-Life Counter Strike, the first time the tactical shooter has been
dethroned on any such list since the Nixon administration. Thanks ThePDW...
- Game
makers try to plug brain drain: "Europe's video game makers are
having a banner year, churning out monster hit titles from 'Enter the
Matrix' to 'Splinter Cell.' Yet jobs in the industry are far from
secure." Thanks Peter Binazeski...
Today marks the launch of the ECTS... I guess all these summer game conventions
are starting to eliminate any sense that the summer is a slow period for gaming
news. Games announced, games released, new demos. I keep checking the calendar
to make sure it's still August.
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