|
|
 |
Archived News:
Star Wolves - Le site officiel now
links to
downloads of a demo for Star Wolves, the upcoming space combat RPG in the
works at Xbow Software (already available in their native Russia). The version
on the site includes a DirectX 9 distribution, so presuming this isn't the first
game you've played on your computer, you are probably safe with the version on
3D Gamers, which is
33 MB smaller thanks to a DirectXectomy. The larger version is also available on
Gamer's Hell.
DreamCatcher
Games' Aerial Strike Product Page is now online, a home to this flying
combat game also known as Yager. Also, the official
Lego Star Wars: The Video
Game Website is online, a Flash home for the upcoming Force and building
block-based game. Finally, a new
1944: Battle of the Bulge Website is now online. Thanks Frans.
- Rainbow Six: Lockdown
The
Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Q&A on Computer Games Magazine chats with John Slaydon about Rainbow
Six: Lockdown, the next installment in this Tom Clancy shooter series: "The
single player campaign for Rainbow Six Lockdown was designed by Redstorm and
the PS2 and Xbox versions are very similar, except for some Xbox specific
features, such as dynamic lighting, footprint tracking, etc. The main
differences come in the multiplayer game. For PS2, multiplayer brings the
new experience of playing Rainbow operatives versus mercenaries. With the
new Rivalry mode, Rainbow and Mercenary teams compete to be the first to
complete the majority of objectives to win the match. Rescue or capture
hostages, disarm or detonate bombs, hack into computers or secure them to
protect valuable information. Rainbow fights to protect society from the
Mercenaries."
- Act of War: Direct Action
The
Act of War: Direct Action Q&A on Computer and Video Games is a
conversation with Alexis le Dressay about Eugen
Systems' upcoming RTS game: "The game is built pretty much from the
ground up with storytelling in mind, from the way that mission objectives
are defined and presented to the mix between in-game and live action
cinematics. Integrating a complex story in a game is always a difficult
exercise, and you need to be sensitive to the fact that some people find
story elements intrusive. The pace and overall emotion of the story also
reflects in the pace and character of the gameplay; as the story changes
pace, so does the gameplay, and as the role of the heroes in the story moves
from being reactive to active, so does the gameplay."
- Psychonauts
Tim
Schafer A Man and His Beard on IGN is a Q&A with the one-time LucasArts
designer about Psychonauts, the upcoming paranormal romp in the works at
Double Fine Productions: "Every game I've tried to put some sort of
interactive either psychological trip or interactive dream sequence or
something like that, because you can mess with images that are on the level
of surrealism. Like in a Miyamoto game, you get these crazy surreal images
and they're really awesome to look at. The cool thing is, if you do that in
a dream or in a mental world, they're all part of the dreamer's head. They
all have psychological significance and they all mean something. You see
that in someone's head and, you know, when there's a bullet and it has eyes
on front of it, that says something about that guy. And you come out of his
head and you say, "Whoa, what's going on inside that person's head?" And it
relates to how they behave in the real world. And you could have fun with
just crazy constructs."
- dtp entertainment
Adventure
Gamers' dtp entertainment Q&A chats with Chris Kellner about various
projects the German publisher is backing: "I think we do more than almost
any would do for an adventure title. We always watch the campaigns of our
competitors to see what they do for their adventure games. For example, for
Syberia II in Germany, we thought they did virtually nothing. Adventures are
not that big; you can’t just sit back and say, “Well okay… they will sell no
matter how few press releases we do or preview versions we send out.” That’s
just wrong. You really have to bang a drum for adventures and go all out."
- Music
Experience
Gaming's World of Warcraft Q&A talks with Jason Hayes, lead composer for
World of Warcraft, Blizzard's MMORPG: "I've worked for Blizzard ever since
StarCraft. On that title, I was able to contribute in a variety of ways-
from music, to sound design, to voice direction. I've helped write many of
the lines the units say, and I even got to do some voice acting! (Firebat,
Arbiter, the hero Artanis, and others) At the time I started the company was
a lot smaller, and it wasn't uncommon for people to wear many different
hats. As Blizzard has grown, the development team members have become a bit
more specialized. So, it was natural for me to gravitate more exclusively
toward music because it's my greatest passion."
A new
Purge Jihad Patch is now available, updating Freeform Interactive's FPS/RPG
hybrid to version 2.4.2 (thanks Frans). The new version build notes are
available in the game's Message of the Day.
Strategy First sends word that the Gold Edition of Disciples II is shipping.
Here's the deal on the contents of this turn-based strategy bundle:
Montreal, Canada. February 3, 2005. Strategy First Inc. is pleased to
announce that Disciples II Gold has shipped to retailers nationwide. Developed
and published by Strategy First Inc., Disciples II Gold offers four great titles
and countless hours of fantasy gameplay in one adventure-packed box.
“Disciples II Gold is the perfect opportunity for anyone to introduce themselves
to the Disciples II titles for the first time,” says Emanuel Wall, the Producer
at Strategy First.
Disciples II Gold brings you the complete Disciples II campaign series including
Dark Prophecy, Guardians of the Light, Servants of the Dark, Rise of the Elves,
and five new bonus quests. For the first time, players can follow the entire
Disciples II storyline from start to finish.
Just two, so don't shoot over the lack of bullets: The first SWAT 4 movie
is now online, showing off Irrational Games' upcoming installment in the
tactical police shooter series. The clip can be found in a variety of sizes and
formats in this VU Games
FTP Directory, and one of the QuickTime versions is mirrored on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
Likewise, the first gameplay movie from Red Shark 2 is now online,
offering footage from G5 Software's upcoming arcade helicopter sequel. This clip
is available in two different sizes on
G5
Software's FTP server and mirrored on
3D Gamers and
Worthplaying.
A new patch for Rome: Total War is now available, updating Creative Assembly's
real-time strategy game to version 1.2. Here's word on the update, which can be
found on
Activision's Rome Total War Website: "This 60MB patch will update Rome:
Total War™, and the 1.1 patch to version
1.2. It includes improved performance, single player improvements and
multiplayer connectivity updates. The 1.2 patch will be required to play games
online." the patch is mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
The Adventure Company announces the first of the their Agatha Christie games
( story) as they unveil plans for And Then There Were None. The
game will be based on one of Dame Christie's most famous novels, which was also
the subject of three movies (two with the same name as well as Ten Little
Indians). Here's the deal: Toronto, February 3, 2005 – The Adventure
Company, a leading publisher of PC adventure games, today announced And Then
There Were None as the first title in a series of games based on the books from
legendary mystery author, Agatha Christie. AWE Games has been signed to recreate
the rich storyline and characters from this best-selling novel.
Storyline:
In the classic story And Then There Were None, 10 people, each with something to
hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Shipwreck Island
by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island, they are cut off
from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past
lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts.
And one by one, they die...
Agatha Christie fans, and newcomers to the genre, can look forward to a series
of unexpected turns; although the storyline stays true to the original concept,
players will encounter new plot twists. The first comes in the form of an 11th
character, the player, a boatman who brings the others to the island and then is
trapped there himself. To save the lives of the intended victims, the player
must unravel the motives behind the murders and uncover the identity of the
killer. If successful, he will spare not only the lives of the remaining guests,
but also his own.
“And Then There Were None is one of the greatest mysteries of our time, and the
perfect title to propel what is starting out to be an incredible series,” said
Richard Wah Kan, CEO of The Adventure Company. “It’s a challenge to recreate
such a masterful story, but we’re confident the talented team at AWE Games will
do both the novel and fans proud.”
“We are proud to be a part of presenting Agatha Christie’s mysteries in a new
medium,” said Scott Nixon, Producer for AWE Games. “Her writing and the
adventure game genre make a perfect match, one that stresses character
interaction, development, and psychology.
With game design by Lee Sheldon, the game will ship globally in Fall of 2005 and
has an anticipated ESRB rating of “T” for Teen in North America and “12+ PEGI”
in Europe.
The ZOO Digital Publishing Product Page for Sudeki (thanks Frans) confirms
the recent revelation of plans for a PC edition of Sudeki ( story
and story). The page links to
a
release schedule listing 25 May 2005 as the release date for the PC edition
of Climax' RPG that is already available for the Xbox. Also, the official
Cold Fear
Website is online, including the reassuring PC CD-ROM logo that was missing
from the recent gameplay movie ( story) from Darkworks'
action/horror game.
Sony Online
Entertainment Expands Operations With SOE-Seattle (thanks Frans) announces
they have expanded their operations in to the gaming hotbed that is the Pacific
Northwest: SAN DIEGO, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Online Entertainment
Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming,
announced today that it has expanded operations with the formation of a
development studio in Seattle, Washington. SOE-Seattle will further increase
Sony Online Entertainment's global market share and will strengthen the overall
planning and production of premium games.
Matt Wilson will serve as Executive Producer of SOE-Seattle. Wilson had been
with Microsoft for over 10 years, leaving to form FireAnt, Inc. with John Smith,
Alex Pfaffe, Craig Link and Ed Fries in order to create cutting-edge massively
multiplayer online games. All the members of FireAnt will be joining the new
studio full-time, with the exception of Ed Fries, who will serve in an advisory
role for SOE-Seattle game design and studio management. The SOE-Seattle team has
a diverse history of game development, having worked on titles such as Dungeon
Siege, Ultima Online, Wing Commander, Asheron's Call, and many others.
GamerGod is conducting an IRC session this
evening to talk with the frisky devils at Netdevil about Auto Assault, their
upcoming motorized MMORPG. During the chat they will conduct
a trivia contest and hand
out Auto Assault t-shirts, along with, of course, details on the project. The
session will be held in the channel #gamergod on irc.gamesnet.net, with the
festivities getting underway at 9:00 pm Eastern time.
- Star Wars Republic Commando
The
Star Wars Republic Commando Q&A on FileFront talks with Chris Williams
about LucasArts' upcoming Star Wars squad-based shooter: "We looked closely
at Special Forces Squads in the real world and even went so far as to have a
special forces trainer come in and show our animators how to move and what
their squad tactics are. We also looked at gritty war movies about WWII and
Vietnam for inspiration. We blended these real world references into the
Star Wars fiction and are providing gamers with something very new and
unique – a special force squad experience in the Star Wars universe."
- Project: Snowblind
The
Project: Snowblind Q&A on PC Gameworld (thanks Frans) and
Loadedinc's Project : Snowblind Q&A each talk with Crystal Dynamics
about their upcoming shooter. This is from the former: "We were interested
in working in a new genre over at Crystal. Once we prototyped Project:
Snowblind early on, we knew we had something unique for the FPS space. With
such intense firefights, over two dozen weapons, gadgets and abilities for
the player to choose from, it quickly became apparent, even in the early
prototype that we had something special. And then once we built our first of
the Smart Weapons, we knew we had something very cool to hand over to gamers
like yourself. Smart Weapons represent a subset of the player's arsenal that
basically think while you shoot them."
- Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse
This local copy
of a Stubbs
the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse Q&A is an in-house interview
distributed by Wideload Games to reveal more about Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel
Without a Pulse, their upcoming Halo-engine tongue-in-cheek horror game:
"Stubbs has a lot of really cool abilities that evolve into interesting
gameplay dynamics. Stubbs can tear off his own hand and send it into areas
he can't reach himself. The hand can also possess other characters, giving
you access to their weapons and abilities. It really opens a lot of doors
gameplay-wise. Personality-wise, he's a good man who was wronged all his
life; only in death does he gain the ability to turn his losing streak
around. He's the ultimate underdog, and everyone likes an underdog."
- Psychotoxic
The
Psychotoxic Q&A on Game Chronicles (thanks Frans) psychoanalyzes Tim
Bruns, art director on NuClear Vision's upcoming first-person shooter: "In
the beginning of the 21st century a mysterious machine was discovered under
the subway system of New York, but no one realized this machine to be the
last rider except the evil sect leader Aaron Crowley (who believes to be the
reincarnation of the Satanist Aleister Crowley). With his knowledge of the
final horseman he hoped to create a new earth dominated by evil. This “evil
horseman machine” started to infect the minds of people on Earth, that’s why
the game is called Psychotoxic."
- Rainbow Six: Lockdown
The
Rainbow Six: Lockdown Q&A on FileFront talks with John Slayton,
lead designer on the PS2 edition of the upcoming Rainbow Six game: "Fans
will see some great additions to the Rainbow franchise. We have added the
Sniper Missions where the player assumes the role of Dieter Weber, the
Rainbow sniper. As the sniper, the player protects the Rainbow team from an
elevated position, such as a rooftop or helicopter, using the prototype
Digital Sniper scope."
Steam News
(thanks Frans) has news of a new automatic update for the Source engine. The
pair of fixes listed each address exploits.
A playable demo for Winning Eleven 8 is now available, offering a sample of the
upcoming PC edition of this soccer/football simulator with a title reminiscent
of a scratch-off lottery game (also known by the more understandable Pro
Evolution Soccer 4). The demo is a 198 MB download, available on
3D Gamers,
Boomtown (registration required),
Computer Games Ro,
FileFront,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
Video game publisher THQ doubles profit (thanks Mike Martinez) has some happy
financials. Meanwhile,
Computer games firms poised to move in for the kill examines the take-over
frenzy that's taken over the game scene. Also,
Atari Promotes Lisa
Rothblum to Executive Vice President, Administration and Operations.
Finally, EA Completes
Purchase of Shares of Ubisoft Entertainment (thanks Frans) announces that EA
"has completed its previously announced purchase of 3,497,049 shares of Ubisoft
Entertainment S.A. from Talpa Beheer B.V. for a purchase price of 19.69 Euros
per share." Just under 69 million Euros is about $89 million in U.S. currency.
Here's a reminder that the
Guild Wars
Beta Weekend Key Opportunities Page has details on how to participate in the
next beta weekend for ArenaNet's upcoming MMORPG (thanks
Rage321's Guild Wars Fansite). Screenshots
of the new areas of the game world that will be opened can be found
here.
Also,
Music 4 Games has the list of nominees for the third annual G.A.N.G. (Game
Audio Network Guild) awards: "The G.A.N.G. Awards recognize achievement in
music, sound design, and voice acting and will take place on March 10, 9pm at
the Moscone center during this year's Game Developers Conference in San
Francisco."
Legit Reviews has
a write-up based on attending the recent
St. Louis Gaming - Warfactory LAN, illustrated by some photos.
The TC: Elite Website lists
February 10 as the release date for the next version of True Combat: Elite, the
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory-based game. Thanks Ant.
In another phishing scheme ripped from today's headlines, I got a couple of scam
spams this morning from someone purporting to be a U.S. soldier looking for a
partner to help get $25 million of Saddam Hussein's fortune out of the middle
east, going so far as to send a
BBC story from
a couple of years ago to corroborate the origins of the money. Perhaps I should
get him in touch with Yassir Arafat's widow who contacted me with a similar
proposal and they could help each other out?
I have an over-scheduled day today, as Gunnar's second visit to the vet is this
morning, I may have to return the rental car I picked up when I was informed
that after the new light switch was installed, my truck started blowing fuses
(I'm just not even contemplating the idea that they've ruined her on me), and we
also got a call from Dr. Toothy's receptionist yesterday, confirming an
appointment for today (that I never actually made) relating to my crown repairs
in progress.
Dr. Doggie, Dr. Toothy, and Dr. Goodwrench are not at all near each other (the
vet is by the Connecticut border and the Dentist is in Manhattan), and the
timing is going to be tight, so I'm just a little stressed out about all this.
On the other hand, at least it's Groundhog Day, so if this all blows up, at
least I may get the chance to set it all right.
That's the potential good news, the bad
Groundhog Day news is already in.
|
Twitter 
