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Archived News:
Ghost Recon 2 PC
Becoming A Ghost? on Computer Games Magazine follows-up with Ubisoft on the
omission of Ghost Recon 2 from their upcoming release list. They received the
following sort of explanation from Ubi's PR department:
"Yesterday’s press release focused on new titles
for 05-06, rather than on different platform versions of already-released
titles – so no GR2 PC mention. Unfortunately, I don’t have any further
details about the game at this time – I’m still waiting for confirmation of
specific features and when the game might ship."
The Adellion Website has a new
letter to the community from David Dougher, technical director on Honorbound's
MMORPG, discussing how testing the game is progressing, offering up a couple of
new screenshots along the way. Also, the
Lego Star Wars Designer Diary #2 on GameSpot offers more from Giant's
Jonathan Smith about progress on the upcoming adventures of Blocky Wan Kenobi
and cohorts.
- Brothers in Arms
The Brothers
in Arms Q&A on Game Chronicles discusses the just-released World War II
shooter with Gearbox Software's Marc Tardif: "The best way we can describe
the multiplayer portion of Brothers in Arms is that it’s similar to a single
player cooperative experience however all the enemies are controlled by
humans. Like the single player game, players control squads of AI in unique
missions. There is no generic capture the flag or deathmatch here, just pure
competitive and tactical action. Can you play as a German squad leader?
Well, someone’s got to play the enemy, right?"
- Pariah
The Pariah
Q&A on Gameplay Monthly talks with James Schmalz of
Digital Extremes about Pariah, their upcoming first-person shooter: "Digital
Extremes has always been known for great looking games. We constantly strive
to push the graphics envelope and we're really pleased with how great Pariah
looks. But there's more than just graphics and we've worked hard to make
Pariah a full package game. It's got an in-depth storyline driven
single-player campaign along with a really robust multiplayer component that
includes for the first time on a console system, an online map editor. We're
really excited to see what console players come up with on the map editor.
We expect it to add quite a bit of longevity to the game and a lot of value
to the gamers."
- Freedom Force versus the Third Reich
The
Freedom Force versus the Third Reich Q&A on Resetmag chats with Ken
Levine of Irrational Games about their upcoming superhero sequel: "We didn’t
simply improve multiplayer, we scrapped everything and started from a blank
drawing board. We added several new modes, with Story-Based Multiplayer
being the biggest. In this mode, players will be able to essentially live
out their own comic book creations. It’s going to be something else."
The
PlanetCNC Forums (thanks Ant) has news of the
departure of Adam Isgreen (lead designer on Red Alert, Tiberian Sun, and
Firestorm) from Electronic Arts L.A. Here's word from Adam: "After spending 2
years out at EA after Westwood was 'consolidated', with several abortive
attempts to get a new C&C off the ground, EA and I have parted ways. I'm heading
back to Vegas to work with the already stellar group of ex-westwoodians and
great new people that make up the staff of Petroglyph. I'm very excited by what
Petro has been doing, and suffice it to say that C&C fans will not be
disappointed by what's comiing [sic] in the future.... =)"
Eidos sends word that Project: Snowblind for the PC is now in stores in
North America:
Project: Snowblind for Windows is now in stores in
North America
Windows gamers today is your day to suit up and ready your weapons for
battle. Project: Snowblind for PC has shipped and is now in stores in North
America. To celebrate this milestone in the Project: Snowblind saga, we've
uploaded a new trailer on the Eidos.com site for all to download and use
(link below). Once again, Project: Snowblind for PC is in stores in North
America. Now everyone that has wanted to experience the future of warfare
will have their chance. Head on over to the Eidos.com site and grab the
trailer to see what you'll be part of in short order. Happy posting.
Eidos.com Trailer download link:
http://www.eidosinteractive.com/downloads/search.html?gmid=153
or
Official Project: Snowblind website:
www.projectsnowblind.com
An updated Manhattan Chase demo is now available, a "final" sample of
Team6's third-person driver/shooter. The demo offers a shooter mission and
includes multiplayer support, the 159 MB download is available on
3D Gamers,
Gameguru Mania,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
There is also a new hi-rez movie from the game, the 8 MB download can be found
on 3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
The Darwinia Website
(thanks Frans) has word that the Linux
edition of Darwinia is complete, along with the
Linux demo for
the evolutionary strategy game. The demo is a 14 MB download, while the
Linux patch is a mere
3 MB download, though this, of course, requires the full Windows retail edition
of the game as well. Word is: "Compatible with Suse 9.1, Debian/Sarge and
Debian/Sid, Redhat 9.0 or later, and most recent linux distributions."
An English playable demo for 1944: Battle of the Bulge is now available,
allowing the chance to sample Monte Cristo's strategy game set in the pivotal
World War II battle for the Ardennes Forest. The demo can be downloaded from one
of the mirrors on the
Digital Jesters Website.
The Our Games
section on the Akella Website (thanks Frans)
has a release schedule that reveals some previously unannounced games:
- Raiders of the Lost Casino
- Enosta
- Dead Mountaineer's Hotel
MCV
(thanks Frans) has word that Stolen developer Blue 52 has closed its doors, though the release of the game is still on track:
UK development studio Blue 52 has closed its doors
after failing to secure enough cash to pay for company overheads, MCV can
reveal. The forthcoming release of Stolen, Blue 52’s highly-regarded stealth
sim, to be published by Hip Interactive at the beginning of April, has not
been affected.
“Blue 52 has been liquidated because it was unable to continue to support
the overheads necessary for several development teams and a separate
technology and tools department,” revealed Jaid Mindang, co-director at Blue
52.
Sources close to the London-based developer indicate that a small team
has relocated to alternative premises to complete work on Stolen, and that
the company is set to rise from the ashes as a new business initiative,
Curve Games Studios, with the same core staff later this year.
“We are continuing to pursue new development contracts with other
publishing partners,” said Mindang. It is not known what will happen with
previously announced project Deadlight.
Stolen is due for release on April 1st for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 2.
The Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Website is online, a homepage to the upcoming installment in the shooter
series, offering the PC-CD logo as reassurances that the game is still planned
to show up on PCs, as the promotion for the game has focused on the console
editions. Also, the official
SCAR Website is now
online, dedicated to Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo, the upcoming racing and
role-playing game (thanks Frans).
Included on the site are three dozen new screenshots. Finally, a new
X³ Reunion Product Page
(thanks Frans) is online, dedicated to
the just-announced/retooled space sequel.
The
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Media Page now offers another new
gameplay movie from the upcoming stealthy action sequel, the Alien trailer shows
off what they describe as "a terrorists worst nightmare." Also, five new Taxi 3
eXtreme Rush movies show off the upcoming arcade racing sequel from Team6. The
clips can be found on 3D
Gamers, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
- Guild Wars
The
Guild
Wars Fansite Friday Beta Weekend Event #5 Special Edition (thanks
Guild Wars Slovenija) has
details on the latest beta weekend for ArenaNet's MMORPG that's now
underway: "We will continue to offer pre-made options to start a PvP
character. But the design team has come up with an interesting concept to
expand on PvP Character creation options. You can now custom create Level 20
PvP-only characters. But instead of being a standard build with a
predetermined skill set, you 'grow' your PvP character based on your other
accomplishments. When you acquire a skill with your roleplaying characters,
your PvP-only character will gain access to that skill. When you find an
item in a PvM mission or quest, you can unlock the item's ability by using
an Identification Kit on that item. When you do that, the item will become
available to your PvP Character. Once you've unlocked a skill or magic item,
it remains unlocked even if the roleplaying character used to unlock it is
deleted."
- F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R
And Loving In San Francisco on Eurogamer.net is a Q&A with Monolith's
Kevin Stephens about their scary shooter: " To sum it up, it's really the
visceral over the top cinematic action. We really set out to capture the
feel of being in an action movie and I think we've done a pretty good job of
that. There's obviously the twists, the horror element, which I think kind
of really sets it apart. I think it's a little bit fresh; it's something
that hasn't been done in the first-person shooter genre, and so I think that
it's something that's familiar to people, but hopefully it'll be a new
experience, and an experience they'll really enjoy."
- EverQuest II
The
EverQuest II Q&A On Everquest 2 WarCry talks with Steve "Moorgard"
Danuser about the MMO sequel: "Blackburrow is a massive series of caverns
built into a mountain range, and over the years some entrances collapsed
while new ones opened. The Age of Cataclysms had a profound effect upon the
geography of Norrath. Picture thousands of years of tectonic shifting and
continental drift distilled down into the span of a few decades. The world
was violently ripped apart and twisted into something new. Due to this
shifting and moving, certain locations you may be familiar with in EverQuest
may not be in exactly the same spot."
- Elite Warriors: Vietnam
The Elite
Warriors Q&A on Game Chronicles (thanks Frans)
talks with Maj. John L. Plaster (USA-Ret) about his role as military
consultant on the special forces game: "Structurally, the game contains many
innovations, or combines and modifies capabilities to make the game
realistic. For instance, it bothered me when I saw that most First-Person
Shooter games were little more than graphically impressive mazes that sort
of steered the player in certain directions until he inevitably encountered
his foes. Jeff and Steve, at my urging, dramatically reduced such
unrealistic "obstacles" so that you're pretty well free-play, and can go
nearly in any direction. As well, it irritated me that most games fixed the
enemy at certain locations so that, for instance, every time you approached
a tall hill, a sniper fired from a treetop, and a machinegun nest opened
fire, etc."
- NWN 2
Neverwinter Nights 2 News' Ferret Q&A chats with NWN 2 lead designer
Ferret Baudoin: "Shortly after I started working at BIS, Feargus Urquhart
and a bunch of other people left to start a new company. The people that
left were some of the people I hugely admired. From my perspective, a
development studio is just a name – what makes it great are its people.
Obsidian had some amazingly great people. It was heartbreaking leaving
Fallout 3 (talk about a dream gig) but I had little faith in Interplay at
the time, and an enormous amount of faith in the people over at Obsidian.
There was a brief stretch of time where people thought I was insane – but
history sadly has proved it was the correct decision."
- Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars
Become a Skilled
Warrior, a Diplomat and an Economist in Cossacks II Napoleonic Wars on
GameZone is a Q&A with CDV's Mario Kroll discussing GSC Game World's
upcoming historical real-time strategy sequel: "The engine in Cossacks II:
Napoleonic Wars is an entirely new creation by GSC Gameworld. Given the era
where massive, formation-based battles shook Europe, the new engine now
accommodates thousands of units on the map at one time. From a practical
gameplay perspective, however, each screen will focus on a subset of the
battles on the overall map, which keeps control to a more sensible level
even in massive battles."
- Commandos: Strike Force
The Commandos: Strike
Force Q&A on IGN talks with Michael Souto about the upcoming action game
spin-off of the World War II strategy game series: "We're actually aiming at
both. Of course people that like FPS should be attracted, but the way you
play the game will appeal to people who like to experience a more strategic
approach to gaming. In no way is Commandos Strike Force strategic in terms
of having to plan three moves in advance but we want people to be wary when
moving around and taking the enemy out. Gun-and-run will work in some
instances but will almost certainly get you shot to pieces in others. We
want people who like to play the good guy and outsmart the bad guys. This
should also appeal heavily to console gamers who want the action but require
some challenge that may not always be found in games of this type."
- Hero's Journey
The
Hero’s Journey Q&A on FileFront talks with
Mike Paddock about Simutronics' upcoming MMORPG: "We’re going to have a lot
of character customization! We’re proud of the systems that we are building
to allow players to make the characters that they want to play, whether it’s
ability selection or appearance. Having characters with unique appearances
is something that we are particularly keen on, and we’ll be providing
expansive options along those lines."
- Diplomacy
Paradox releases first details on Diplomacy on GameSpot is a Q&A
offering some skinny on Paradox Interactive's upcoming board game-inspired
strategy game: "Diplomacy is a classical board game about the power game and
diplomacy between nations. While the board game uses the historical setting
of Europe prior to WWI, Diplomacy is not a historical war game in the same
sense as Hearts of Iron for instance. Its abstracted and simple game play
puts focus on negotiations and overall strategy. In my opinion it is the
best multiplayer board game ever and making a worthy computer conversion is
the finest job any strategy game programmer could have."
A new English
Cossacks II
FAQ is online, offering further information on GSC Game World's upcoming
strategy sequel. Thanks Frans.
The F.E.A.R.
Beta Test Sweepstakes offers the chance to win one of 20 spots to
participate in the beta testing of F.E.A.R., Monolith's upcoming first-person
shooter.
The Immortal Cities
Children of the Nile Website now offers instructions on creating mods and
scenarios for Tilted Mill's strategy game. Also,
Game Gardens offers downloads of an
open source version of their Narya toolkit for creating online multi-player
games, the same toolkit used to create Three Rings'
Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.
- Dark Horizons: Lore - Invasion on
GameShark.
- Judge Dredd: Dredd Versus Death on
GameSpot.
- Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords on
2404.org.
The weather is getting warmer, daylight saving time is coming, and the
vernal equinox approaches. I'm guessing March only holds one or two more
blizzards left in its playbook! Weee!
R.I.P.:
Sci-fi and fantasy author Norton dies.
Yakety Yak!
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