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Archived News:
A demo version of Hidden & Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron is now available,
offering the chance to sample Illusion Softworks; World War II tactical shooter
expansion. The demo features a Sicilian mission as well as multiplayer play. The
178 MB download is available on the Take 2
Games Website and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileShack (registration required),
Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
A new patch for Men of Valor is now available, updating 2015's Vietnam War
first-person shooter to version 1.3. The update allows communication between the
North American and European editions of the game. The 2.7 MB download is
available on
Sierra Entertainment's FTP Server (direct link) and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
A new Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines movie is now available,
celebrating the imminent release of Troika's Source-engine RPG based on the
tabletop gaming series. The movie is available on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Also, the Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Media Videos Page
now offers a pair of new movies from the upcoming return of the daring prince
(thanks Frans). There's a Traps video, showing off traps and their avoidance,
and there's also an Acrobats movie, showing off the acrobatic regent's newest
moves. Also, the
Official Website for Need for Speed Underground 2 now hosts a pair of
new gameplay clips form the street racing sequel, as well as a launch event
video. Finally, the Silent Hunter III
Official Website now
features a new official trailer from the upcoming naval warfare sequel. In
addition, the movie specifies February 2005 as the game's projected release
date, which was previously the more general Q1.
- Pariah
The
Pariah Q&A on
Games-Fusion converses with James Schmalz of Digital Extremes about
their upcoming first-person shooter. Here's a bit on the Unreal meets
Northern Exposure plotline: "In Pariah, you play Jack Mason, a military
doctor in the year 2520. You are a brilliant doctor, but are currently at a
bit of a low point in your career and have been demoted several times. You
have been called upon to perform a routine sick prisoner transport on earth.
The lowest of the low jobs for Mason. But, of course, things are not as they
appear and as you are transporting your prisoner off planet, there is an
explosion and your ship goes crashing to earth. You and your prisoner,
Karina, survive only to be confronted with new challenges and mysteries as
the story unfolds."
- Codename Panzers
The
Codename Panzers Q&A on
FileFront discusses Stormregion's World War II RTS with Mario Kroll of
publisher CDV: "What really differentiates Panzers from other RTS titles
(besides its amazing graphics and AI) is the resource management system.
Instead of having to build bases and keep constant watch on resources, you
start each mission with a pre-built selection of units and some prestige
points. You can use the prestige points to purchase more units or to upgrade
those you already have."
- Armies of Exigo
The
Armies of Exigo
Q&A on Worthplaying is an in-house Q&A distributed by EA covering Black
Hole's fantasy-themed RTS game: "It's a linear game comprised of three
campaigns. Starting with the Empire, continuing with the Fallen, and
wrapping up with the Beast campaign. There are 12 missions per race for a
total of 36. The story is laid out so that in the end, two forces who are
long time rivals actually join together for an epic battle against the
Fallen."
- Cuban Missile Crisis
The
Cuban Missile Crisis Q&A on PC Gameworld (thanks Frans) interrogates
Sergey Sizov, project manager on G5's upcoming cold war RTS game: "So, it’s
like being a general and making vital strategic decisions before rushing
into the battle itself. That’s the mode you find yourself in before going to
real-time mode. While operating in this mode you choose from what front to
advance, what objects to capture, what forces to use. To make the game more
realistic we decided not to make all the missions obligatory."
- The Matrix Online
The
new The Matrix Online Vault Question of the week covers constructs in
Monolith's upcoming MMORPG.
Activision sends word that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Troika's
eagerly anticipated RPG, is due on November 16, at the same time as its
Source-engine cousin Half-Life 2: Santa Monica, CA – November 9, 2004 –
The bloodletting begins on November 16, 2004 with the shipping of Activision,
Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Vampire®: The Masquerade – Bloodlines™ for the PC.
An all-new RPG adventure, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines is filled with
rich character development, an intriguing storyline set in White Wolf’s World of
Darkness®, and mind-blowing graphics powered by Source™ - Valve’s next
generation engine technology. It will take a vicious array of vampire
disciplines and a healthy penchant for blood, for players to survive the dark
and gritty undying world of modern day L.A. Selecting from one of seven clans,
gamers will interact with other characters, decide with whom to ally themselves,
and watch as darkness takes over their soul while a mysterious plot
unfolds.
EA's Medal of Honor
Pacific Assault Recreates WWII'S Intense Pacific Theater on The PC is the
press release announcing that the CD edition of the World War II shooter
follow-up is hitting the beaches and should be available in North American
retail outlets. Here's word on the game, which is also available in a DVD
Director's Edition ( story): "EA's Medal Of Honor fans have
embraced the series as a benchmark for first-person war shooters. With Medal of
Honor Pacific Assault, we have made some big improvements on our proven formula.
From a new setting to updated technology, new gameplay features and new
multiplayer modes--this title promises to be the most advanced Medal of Honor
game yet," explains Executive Producer Rick Giolito. "The combination of intense
run-and-gun combat set within the authentic atmosphere of the Pacific Theater,
makes Medal of Honor Pacific Assault an entertainment experience tailor-made for
action fans."
NVIDIA's Driver
Downloads Page now offers new version 66.93 WHQL certified ForceWare
reference drivers for NVIDIA graphic accelerators for
Windows XP/2K and for
WindowsXP Media
Center Edition. Thanks Ian.
Merscom announces that Space Interceptor: Project Freedom, CITY Interactive's
arcade space game, is now available in North America: CHAPELL HILL, NC -
November 9, 2004 – Merscom LLC today announced "Space Interceptor: Project
Freedom" for PC has shipped to retail across North America. This high-quality
space combat arcade-style game, with its dazzling visuals and straight-ahead
action gameplay, raises the bar for "value-priced" games. Published by Merscom,
"Space Interceptor: Project Freedom" was developed by CITY Interactive and is
distributed to retailers by Atari. The game is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB
for Mild Language and Violence and retails for $19.99 (USD).
"This game is just flat-out fun to play," said Merscom Director, Lloyd Melnick.
"If you’re ready to be the hero at the helm of a heavily armed fighter ship,
firing missiles, torpedoes, and more as you blaze through enemy fleets, tumbling
asteroid fields, and snaking planet-side canyons, then this is the game for
you."
"Space Interceptor: Project Freedom" orbits you into the third millennium, where
Earth's mega-corporations, having exhausted all natural resources, now colonize
the solar system. As a space fighter pilot contracted by one of the few
remaining "good guys", a company called Project Freedom, you must battle their
ruthless competition in the lawless new frontier of outer space. With its
eye-popping settings, the game’s production value belies its budget price.
Actual recorded space data was used to create an intensely realistic experience
as your missions take you through beautifully rendered settings such as the
asteroid belt, Jupiter's moons, and a faraway galaxy.
For more information, visit
www.SpaceInterceptor.com.
The Game That's Fit for a
Pharaoh! Myelin Media and Tilted Mill Announce 'Immortal Cities Children of the
Nile' Hits Retailers Nationwide (thanks Frans) is the press release
announcing the U.S. availability of Tilted Mill Entertainment's city building
game: "Chris Beatrice and his team have genuinely evolved the city
building category in a way that we believe will expand the market beyond some of
the previous successes this team has been part of" says Gene Mauro, CEO of
Myelin. "They did this ahead of schedule and on budget, something to be
extremely proud of with such an ambitious project."
"Immortal Cities is the city-building game that I always wanted to make," said
Chris Beatrice, president of Tilted Mill Entertainment. "We were able to
incorporate many innovative elements that have never been done before. The
ability to roam a living and breathing virtual city and interact on a personal
and emotional level with your citizens is both unique and captivating, and we
feel players will enjoy this fresh new experience from a popular genre that has
not evolved as quickly as other genres have."
For further information, please go to
www.immortalcities.com
The Arena Wars
Community Site (thanks Frans) now offers a version 1.2 beta 2 patch for
Arena Wars, which address some small issues with exDream's RTS game remaining
after the first beta 1.2 patch. That said, word is: "v1.2 is still in BETA
status, don't expect everything already running perfectly, there is a lot of
testing going on."
The Digital
Jesters Forum now features downloads of a new patch for The Moment of
Silence, updating House of Tales' mystery adventure game to version 1.01. Word
is: "The update fixes the problem that has been encountered with the elevators
on the platform and the diary." Old save games will still work properly after
applying the patch. Thanks Frans and
Adventure Gamers.
One more morning Tech Bit here, as the promised official release of version 1.0
of the Mozilla
Firefox web browser is now available (thanks Frans). As noted in the press
release, "Development of Firefox has been driven by a desire for a more robust,
user-friendly and trustworthy web experience." Unfortunately, this web
experience may be a little lacking in robustness at the moment, as the site is
being pounded quite heavily.
There's a new Dungeon Lords movie showing off Heuristic Park's action
RPG, the clip is available in two different sizes on the
Dungeon Lords
Website and mirrored on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Also, there's a new Sentinel: Descendants in Time movie that shows off of
Detallion's upcoming first-person adventure game for a 9 MB download, available
on 3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Steam News
(thanks Frans) has word of a small update to the Steam client, adding some
credit card options, as well as the much-requested game files back-up feature.
- Battlefield 2
Private
Eye's Forums' PE's Battlefield 2 Q&A catches up with Sean Decker to
discuss DICE's upcoming military shooter sequel: "The commander mode will
allow players to provide both information and support to their team-mates.
In conjunction with squads, you’ve got a powerful feature for communicating
with your team and affecting the action on the map. The commander can do the
following: provide intel on enemy positions, drop supplies for the team,
provide indirect fire-support and facilitate communication between squads.
In addition – the commander score is linked to the performance of his team –
giving the CO major incentive for the team to succeed. The incentive for the
team to follow the orders is that the commander will most likely be willing
to lend artillery and supply aid to those who listen. However, if the team
feels that the commander is not the best candidate, they can chose to boot
him from his position with a team-vote."
- City of Heroes
There's
a City of Heroes Q&A on City of Heroes Warcry talks with Cryptic's Jack
"Statesman" Emmert about their superhero MMORPG: "What powers does every
Archetype crave? If you’re a Scrapper or Tanker, you really want a ranged
attack. A Defender and a Blaster want personal defense powers. A Controller
wants to dish out damage. Well, the Epic Power Pools allow each Archetype to
get the types of powers they always wanted."
- Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs
The
Catacombs Q&A #1 on MM Hell talks with Mythic's Matt Firor about their
upcoming DAoC expansion: "Our goal is to provide a substantial graphics
upgrade for those users who have cards that can fully support the new models
- a DX 9 card. With this configuration, they should see as good a frame rate
as they do now in Camelot. However, if someone has an older card, they can
still see some of the new enhancements at little or no framerate cost.
Players always have the option of viewing the older models, however, should
they find that necessary."
- CT Special Forces: Fire For Effect
The
CT Special Forces:
Fire For Effect Q&A on Games-Fusion chats with Jerome Sicart and Brice
Davin of publisher Hip Interactive about CT Special Forces, Asobo's upcoming
military shooter: "Asobo has worked extensively on the enemy AI in order to
get results that are dependent on the tactics the players will adopt.
Getting the right balance between ensuring the game plays in a plausible way
and also that it offers a real challenge is the final goal for the team but
we are sure it will be nigh on perfect. The team has also spent time on
researching the way terrorists undertake tasks and missions but the end
result must always be perfect gameplay. We believe we have the perfect blend
of realism, together with real excitement."
- Stranger
RPG
Vault's Stranger Q&A Part 2 continues this conversation with
Fireglow Games about their upcoming RTS game with RPG elements: "We are
developing more interesting behaviour for the computer-controlled
characters. Here, we focus on a specific base behaviour, depending on which
group they belong to - a tribe, for example - and on the implementation of
complex strategies with large groups of characters, such as the defense of a
castle, the functionality of a spy network, the mining of resources or just
on an originally organized neutral settlement. Often, we have targeted a
live atmosphere rather than efficiency."
I am incredibly happy, as my search for Has
Been, the new William Shatner album, has born fruit. In honesty, all it took
was finally working up the nerve to ask where it was in the store... I had
previously allowed my self-consciousness over this to get the better of me.
Luckily I ran into a clerk at the store that was nerdy enough I was willing to
just go with it, and he was nice enough to dig it up for me. Anyway, it's even
better than I had expected. It's worth the price of admission for the Joe
Jackson track alone.
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