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Archived News:
The official Ultima X Odyssey Website has been
relaunched (thanks Frans) dedicated to the upcoming online installment in the
Ultima RPG series. The site introduces the game, shows off over a dozen new
screenshots, a new FAQ, and more.
With all the discussion lately about how Half-Life 2 will run on ATI hardware
compared with NVIDIA accelerators, BonusWeb.cz
shot off an email to id Software's John Carmack to ask how DOOM 3 and other
games are likely to be impacted by the difference between the two graphics
platforms running DirectX 9. Here's how he responded: Unfortunately, it
will probably be representative of most DX9 games. Doom has a custom back end
that uses the lower precisions on the GF-FX, but when you run it with standard
fragment programs just like ATI, it is a lot slower. The precision doesn't
really matter to Doom, but that won't be a reasonable option in future games
designed around DX9 level hardware as a minimum spec.
Black Isle Studios has released a new Lionheart
Patch updating the alternate-history RPG to version 1.1. The update is
available for English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, and it includes bug
fixes, rendering optimizations, networking tweaks, and more. Thanks Frans.
Hot on the heels of the German demo, an English demo for Worms 3D has also been
released, offering an alternate-language sample of the latest turn-based
strategy game featuring the little crawlers. Like the German demo, the English
trial version allows two players to compete on the same computer. The 60 MB demo
can be downloaded from 3D Gamers,
FileFront,
Gamer's Hell,
IGN, Loadedinc
(registration required), and Worthplaying.
Shadowbane
Universe Expands is the press release revealing plans for an expansion pack
titled The Rise of Chaos for Shadowbane, Wolfpack Studios' MMORPG. The add-on is
slated for release in time for this year's holiday season, and will offer a new
playable race, new classes, and more. Here's a bit: Shadowbane: The Rise
of Chaos features new high-level content, and a new race, the Nephilim, a
chaotic fusion of demon and man that has arisen from the forces of darkness. In
addition, the expansion provides new character classes, disciplines, an
additional character slot, two new macro zones, and enhanced environmental
graphics. Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos is being designed and developed by
Wolfpack Studios, based in Austin, Texas, and is operated and supported by
Ubisoft's online gaming division ubi.com(tm), among the top five gaming portals
in the world.
This
press release announces Disciples II: The Rise of the Elves, a stand-alone
expansion pack for Disciples II to be released this fall. True to the title, the
game will carry an elven theme, as this excerpt also demonstrates: "Disciples
II: Rise of the Elves is a milestone in the Disciples universe. For the first
time, Disciples fans will be able to play as the elder Elven race as they
struggle to reclaim their forests from the four primary forces in Nevendaar.
Driven by an unpredictable god who urges them to battle, the Elves begin a
massive march towards their fate."
The promised downloadable Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow trailer is now
available on the
official website for the upcoming stealthy special ops sequel. The clip is
in smaller and larger Windows Media Player format files, and the larger 10 MB clip has
been mirrored on 3D
Downloads, FileFront,
Gamer's
Hell, and Worthplaying.
This CDV
Software Entertainment Page (thanks Frans) has release details for BREED,
the upcoming science fiction first-person shooter in the works at BRAT Designs.
The update includes details on the multiplayer modes being created for the game,
info on plans for a multiplayer demo and a new single-player demo, and news of a
further delay to the game's release. Here's the deal: The long awaited
release of the tactical 3D action shooter Breed will be postponed for another
few weeks.
CDV Software Entertainment, one of the leading German publishers and
distributors of gaming software, announced today that the 3D action shooter
BREED will be released by the beginning of November. In UK and in USA the
release will also take place in November.
...
In order to shorten the waiting period, BREED fans can already look forward to a
further single player demo coming out in October. Before the release, their will
also be a multiplayer demo.
A German demo for Worms 3D is now available, offering the chance to check out
Team17's latest installment in the wacky Worms series, albeit in Deutsch. The
demo includes multiplayer play for two players on the same computer. The demo is
about a 60 MB download, which can be found on 3D
Gamers, Gamer's
Hell, GBase,
Ghome.de, and Worthplaying.
The Get Steam Now! Page
offers the promised downloads of the latest version of the Steam broadband
delivery client that include the most recent game cache content. The full monte
has been mirrored on 3D
Gamers, AusGamers,
Boomtown,
Gamer's Hell,
and HalfLife2Files.
Shadowlands
available in retail describes the availability of the new expansion pack for
Anarchy Online, Funcom's science fiction MMORPG, and brags on the smooth launch
of the project, putting the original game's rocky launch even further in the
rear-view mirror. Also, Electronic Arts announces that NASCAR Thunder 2004 is
available in stores for the PC and all current consoles, offering an all-new
"Grudges and Alliances" feature where the AI will give as it gets.
The official Splinter
Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Website (thanks Frans) is now online, offering a home
base for the upcoming follow-up to the stealthy third-person shooter. The site
offers screenshots and a Flash trailer, with promise of a downloadable trailer
soon. Noteworthy is the conspicuous absence of the PC-CD logo among the
platforms listed.
Sony Computer
Entertainment America Announces March 2004 Release For PlayStation(R)2 Hard Disk
Drive (thanks Frans) announces "specifics on its internal Hard Disk
Drive (40GB) (for PlayStation®2) and while also announcing an impressive
line-up of first and third party online-enabled titles that will be available
for the holiday season and beyond." Also, Microsoft
launches new Xbox Live Dashboard (thanks Mike Martinez).
LucasArts Entertainment
has posted a new Technical
Reference Guide for Jedi Academy (thanks Frans) with all sorts of tips and
technical support for the new Jedi Knight shooter. Also, the World
of Warcraft Frequently Asked Questions has been updated with more queries
and their accompanying answers.
- Legacy Interactive announces that Law & Order II: Double or Nothing
has gone gold, and likewise Aspyr sends word that Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
has gone gold for the Mac and PC. Both games are scheduled for release in
late September...
- A new demo of Devil
Whiskey is available along with a patch to update older versions of the
demo. Thanks Frans...
- Most
Teens Play Violent Video Games, Study Says. Thanks Peter Binazeski...
- Online
Games Grab Grim Reality (registration required). Thanks Mike Martinez...
'Purple
People Eater' Singer Wooley Dies is the news story with word the
actor/singer died yesterday. Sheb is probably unknown to many, but I'm familiar
with his Purple People Eater song, having picked up the single as a
hand-me-down in my youth (an actual 45 RPM record... talk about dating myself).
The weird thing is how my buddy Devicer and I spontaneously started singing this
tune just the other day while playing online. I literally hadn't thought of the
song in years, and then it comes up about a day before the artist died. Just a
little weird.
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