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Archived News:
An updated version 1.2 of the playable demo for X² - The Threat is now available.
Now word is offered on what's new or different in this sample of Egosoft's space
combat game. The demo is a 133 MB download, available on
3D Gamers,
Adrenaline Vault,
Gamer's
Hell, and
Worthplaying.
This LucasArts
Entertainment Company Website is now once again offering downloads of the
version 1.03 patch for Star Wars Knights of the old Republic. This update was
released the other day ( story) but was subsequently pulled
without explanation and replaced with the prior version 1.02 patch. Now, equally
mysteriously, the version 1.03 patch is now once again available, with no word
on why the whole shuffle occurred in the first place. The new/old/new update can
be found mirrored on 3D
Gamers.
The Celtic
Kings Downloads Page (thanks Frans) features a new verson 1.16 patch for
Celtic Kings: Rage of War. Word is: "This patch updates Celtic Kings: Rage of
War to version 1.16. Changes include improved compatibility with Win98 and
SBLive!, several performance enhancements, several crash bugs fixed, and
significantly improved network code. It also includes the four bonus maps
Defenders, Return to the Throne, The Fall of Avalon and Ascendency. You need to
have at least version 1.10 to apply this patch. (You can see the version number
on the title screen, near the caption “Celtic Kings”.) If your version is lower,
please apply the 1.10 patch first."
- DOOM 3
The
Doom 3 Q&A Part Two on GamePro concludes the interview with Todd
Hollenshead, Tim Willits, and Marty Stratton for their April 2004 DOOM 3
cover story (but remember
the game's release date is still when its done). Topics include violence
in games, comparisons with Halo 2 (not Half-Life 2?), competition, and more.
- Battlefield Vietnam
FragZone's
AJ Marini Interview was conducted during a presentation of Battlefield
Vietnam in Stockholm. They discuss various aspects of gameplay in detail,
and make the mp3 of the original interview available to those looking to
hear the source, or just to make fun of the editors' English (which I assure
you is far better than my Swedish).
- Marvel
The
Q&A with
Ames Kirshen talks with the head of the comic book publisher's new
interactive division about what their plans are for the gaming arena.
Prince of
Persia sequel and movie in the works on GameSpot has word on Prince of
Persia the movie plans mentioned earlier, and a revelation that the next
adventures of the acrobatic prince may be coming sooner than expected: "...at
the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, Ubisoft Vice President of Marketing Tony Kee
confirmed that a sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is in the works.
(A sequel had been mentioned in passing at a recent conference call.) While he
gave little in the way of information about the game, he did divulge its
tentative release date, which is Christmas of 2004."
A clip showing off gameplay from Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword is now
available, showing off the action/tactics sequel for the cost of a 10 MB
download. The movie is available on 3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Also, there's a new FlatOut movie on
Blackhole Motorsports
showing off lots of car crashes in a clip created for a Finnish TV show. The
movie is mirrored on
Worthplaying.
RPG Vault's
Warlords Battlecry III Diary #4 is online, in which "Infinite Interactive
Producer Janeen Fawkner tells us about the varied facets of her vital and often
unheralded role." Also,
Action
Vault's Scrapland Peek #4 is online, in which "Mercurysteam Project Director
Enric Alvarez introduces the police and reveals they're not as we'd first
imagine." The article is accompanied by a model and a screenshot.
Manhunt-ing
season starts early on the Xbox and PC on GameSpot has word that "Rockstar
reps confirmed to GameSpot this morning that Manhunt will ship for the Xbox and
PC on April 20."
Teleplan Development Studio
(thanks Frans) reveals plans for an upcoming actin/RPG called Mythora,
apparently quite imminent, as it carries a Q1 2004 release date. Here's a bit of
the story: "The story takes place on a distant planet. The planet - alike the
Earth - is divided into continents, most of which is inhabited by a number of
races of different beings. Due to the fact that the civilization development of
the world corresponds to early middle ages, the communication between particular
continents is, in fact, not possible. Thanks to this, on each continent there
was developed separate culture and the inhabitants of particular continents are
different from each other. There is a rumour among the more developed parts of
the population, which says that somewhere "over the ocean" there are other
beings, other towns and villages, however most people consider this to be
day-dreaming of presumptuous thinkers. Of course there were many brave men who
have taken the risk, either to gain fame or money, and set off for a long
cruise, however there is no trace left of him..."
An updated version 0.3 of the
Heat Of Battle
teamplay modification for Cal of duty is now available. Word is: "More features
have been added than I can list here but some of the most requested are more
maps, (now 6 incredible maps total) weapon drop code, multi-person caps, a new
objective HuD, the German Gewehr 43, and much, much more.
HoB server admins will love the level of control we provide as every feature is
toggleable as well."
Speaking of World of WarCraft, Blizzard promised the release of a new trailer
for the upcoming MMORPG sometime tomorrow, offering "a behind-the-scenes glimpse
of World of Warcraft's opening cinematic." Word is the clip is to be available
at 9:00 p.m. EST.
Atari sends word
that Unreal Tournament 2004 is gold, and that Epic's multiplayer shooter
sequel is due in stores "worldwide" on March 15: Unreal Tournament 2004
was developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Digital Extremes. The game
builds on the success of past installments, taking the franchise to the next
level with the introduction of the hyper-charged Onslaught mode, the return of
the fan-favorite Assault mode, which last appeared in the original Unreal
Tournament, and the introduction of land-, air- and space-based vehicles.
Gamers worldwide have already made the free, downloadable official demo of
Unreal Tournament 2004 one of the most popular game demo downloads of all time,
with more than 1.5 million downloads in the first week of availability. The demo
first hit the Internet on Wednesday, February 11, and was distributed on a
worldwide scale and is already one of the most played online PC games on the
Internet.
In the game, players suit up as the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future,
taking their fates into their own hands as they battle up to 32 other players in
action-packed, frag-filled arenas. Unreal Tournament 2004 contains new maps for
all established game modes, including Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team
Deathmatch, Bombing Run and Double Domination, as well as all new arenas for the
new styles of play. In addition, Unreal Tournament 2004 contains all of the
maps, mutators and game types -- such as Mutant, Last Man Standing and Invasion
-- from Unreal Tournament 2003 and the free downloadable bonus packs for that
game.
A multiplayer demo for Desert Rats versus Afrika Korps is now available,
offering a sample of Digital Jesters' imminent World War II strategy game. The
demo offers the chance to check out a single level in any of three different
game modes. The 209 MB download can be found on
3D Gamers,
Adrenaline Vault,
ActionTrip,
Computer Games Online,
Gamer's
Hell, and
Player Of Games.
Following yesterday's flurry of news about the status of the Oz game, Enlight
announces that designer American McGee has joined their ranks, in a release that
only refers to the Oz project as a film trilogy. There's
a conversation with
American on IGN concerning the move, and here's the official announcement:
Enlight, a leading entertainment software developer and publisher,
announced today a partnership with gaming visionary American McGee. Founder of
the independent game design and consulting firm TMIEC, McGee has signed on to be
Enlight's creative director. Praised for his unique design talents by
publications ranging from PC Gamer to Rolling Stone, American McGee developed
Alice, a darker gothic version of the Lewis Carroll children's tale Alice in
Wonderland and American McGee's Oz, a film trilogy currently being developed by
Disney Films and Jerry Bruckheimer.
"American McGee is one of the most gifted designers in the interactive
entertainment and computer games industries," said Trevor Chan, chief executive
officer of Enlight. "Together, we will seek out other talented designers and as
a publisher, encourage and nourish their creative freedoms instead of squelching
them. This is a major step forward for Enlight. Working directly with American
McGee has been a goal of mine for some time."
Over the last year, Enlight has signed a number of unique and talented
developers including Infinite Interactive, Egosoft and Haemimont Games. Critics
praised Egosoft's X2: The Threat as a game that "redefined the space-trading
genre." Haemimont Games' historical RTS epic Nemesis of the Roman Empire and
Infinite Interactive's Warlords Battlecry 3 are due out soon.
"Trevor Chan has developed one of the most impressive independent development
and publishing houses in the industry," said American McGee. "His attention to
detail and creative genius were shown with hit computer game brands like
Capitalism, Seven Kingdoms, and Restaurant Empire. Together, we will send a very
strong message to the market that Enlight is a home for design teams and game
creators that want a publisher who will support and encourage their
talents."
Eidos Interactive announces that they are acquiring Danish developer IO
Interactive, creators of the Hitman series: EIDOS ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION
OF IO INTERACTIVE
Eidos, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment
software, announces that it has reached agreement to acquire IO Interactive, the
Danish based studio responsible for the hugely successful Hitman franchise.
The acquisition of IO secures the future rights of the Hitman series and
significantly strengthens Eidos' European creative base and development
resource. In addition, the deal will facilitate the use of IO's leading edge
technology platform across the Group, which will play a key role in the
development of next generation titles.
Hitman: Contracts, the third instalment [sic] in the multi-million unit selling
series, will be released on April 30th for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
Mike McGarvey, CEO of Eidos, says:
"We welcome the IO team of outstanding, technically creative developers, who we
know share our vision and values. The relationship and experience we have
already shared over the past five years gives us great confidence in their
ability not only to maintain the outstanding success of Hitman, but also to
develop new titles of unique IP. In addition, their market leading technology
will be a key element in the Group's transition to next generation platforms."
Janos Flösser, Managing Director of IO Interactive, says:
"Eidos is an ideal partner for IO with an inspired and successful management
team who share a similar production and development ethos to our own. We are
delighted to take our existing relationship to the next stage. We will look to
continue producing successful franchises, such as Hitman, and help to define a
winning technology platform which has the potential to be more widely used
across the Eidos studios."
- Vampire
HomeLAN
Fed's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Q&A talks with Trokia co-CEO
Leonard Boyarsky about their upcoming Source-engine game based on the
table-top Vampire: The Masquerade RPG. They discuss the story, the engine,
quests, weapons, multiplayer, and still more.
- Postal 2
There's
a
Vince Desi Q&A on 576 OnLine
(which will be your new homepage if you aren't careful) talking with the
Running with Scissors principal about the inspiration for the Postal dude,
the attitude of Europeans toward violent games, and what the future holds
for the Postal franchise.
The TRIBES
Vengeance "Desiger" Diary on IGN is online, featuring thoughts from designer
Glenn Fiedler as TRIBES Vengeance, the multiplayer shooter sequel, nears
the Alpha milestone. Also,
RPG Vault's City of
Heroes Diary, Volume 9 is online, focusing on taking care of pre-release
City of Heroes details, with "Cryptic Studios' CEO Michael Lewis on the
team's criteria for evaluating whether its project is ready for launch." Also,
Action
Vault's Commandos 3: Destination Berlin Wrap Report offers a postmortem on
Commandos 3, the latest installment in Pyro Studios' World War II
strategy game, offering a quick rundown on what went right and wrong along the
way from designer Ignacio Perez. Also, the
Realms of Torment
Peek #18 on RPG Vault is online, featuring Realms of Torment "Lead
Designer Dan Antonescu on another aspect of the economy in the Quad and
NewroSoft online project, crafting." Finally,
What We're Playing Volume
#6 on GameSpy reveals more games being played by various developers,
learning that Blizzard seems to be intentionally impeding progress on Half-Life
2 by giving Valve's Gabe Newell access to the World of WarCraft beta.
Hollywoodreporter.com (thanks
HomeLAN Fed) has word
that "Warren Zide's Anthem Pictures has acquired the film rights to
'SoulCalibur,' the popular fighting video game from Namco... Zide, along with
manager Craig Perry, produced Universal Pictures' "American Pie" franchise,
which grossed more than $340 million at the domestic boxoffice." Likewise,
Jerry preps game plan for 'Sands' has word on efforts to develop a Prince of
Persia film by the same folks that have the option on the film rights for Oz:
"Jerry Bruckheimer Films is negotiating a seven-figure deal to acquire the
feature film rights to bestselling videogame "Prince of Persia: The Sands of
Time." Pic is being earmarked as a feature film for Disney."
Magnum Games has burst onto the scene by simultaneously announcing their new
game publishing brand, and the first title, due at the end of this month:
Magnum Games is exploding into the PC gaming arena with their premier
CD-ROM title, Beyond The Law: The Third Wave. A squad-based, strategy shooter,
in Beyond the Law: The Third Wave the player commands a covert team of
specialists to stop a renegade criminal element intent on destroying the United
States of America. In this world corruption is rampant, the police have been
bought, and terror reigns - an elite force with authority beyond the law becomes
the last line of defense. This mob must be stopped before our nation's capital
is destroyed in a nuclear attack.
CEO, Carlo Voelker expressed enthusiasm for the new brand saying, "Magnum Games
is poised to become a force in the PC gaming market. We are confident that our
first title, The Third Wave, will put us on the map with both gamers and
retailers."
Beyond the Law: The Third Wave will ship to retailers across North America March
29, 2004.
GMX media announces that they have acquired publishing rights to
SPECNAZ: Project Wolf,
the upcoming special forces shooter in the works at BYTE Software. Here's a bit
on the game, which is due in stores this fall: "SPECNAZ is the First Person
Shooter Tactic game, built on 3D outdoor engine AMOEBA. The main characteristic
feature is the tactic-action model, which the game provides to the player, as
well as gives him/her opportunities for successful completion of missions
without any limitations. Another important factor of the game is the Wolf,
skills and services of which the player will be able to use within about 60% of
the game."
A couple of editorials on
the announced cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance Police ( story)
are now online. There's a reaction to the announcement on
Adventure Gamers
and another on
The International House of Mojo. Thanks Håvard Lindset. Update: the
inevitable Sam and
Max 2 Freelance Police removal of cancellation Petition and the less verbal
We want Sam and
Max 2 back! Petition are both now also online (thanks Lindset).
A new version 1.481 of DarkSpace is now
available, after more than a year of development. Accompanying the new release,
they are offering a two week free trial of the massively multiplayer space game,
offering the chance to check out new features like the completely new fully
distributed server back-end.
The Super Rad Gaming
Pad Sweepstakes on 1Up offers the chance to win a sweet gaming rig in
exchange for a photo of yourself and your current set-up.
Holy moley, I can't believe the Levelord didn't send word that
Tripping the Rift premieres this
evening on the Science Fiction channel... It certainly will be very interesting
to see how much of the trademark TtR raunchiness makes its way into the series.
Happy birthday PlayStation 2, as Sony's latest console system was released in
Japan four years ago today.
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