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Archived News:
A new 80 Days Website is online,
a home to this game based on the Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days,
through the title may also be a reference to how long the site's Flash takes
to load. The site contains the first screenshots from the game, which are
mirrored on 3D
Gamers if you get too tired of watching Phileas Fogg run around the globe,
and here is the description of this adventure game: What do you know about
adventure games? Old fashion pixel hunting things, confined game area,
brainstorm puzzles... times change. "80 days" breaks the rules and sets up new
standards of adventure game:
Main Features:
- based on Jules Verne's most read book!
- real time 3D universe;
- high level real time 3D engine, clothes animation, lip-synch, shaders,
particles system, sound engine...
- new incredible gameplay combining investigation, exploration, and stealth;
- manage time, money, rest and food during your adventure;
- absolute interactivity: you will speak, run, jump, climb, disguise sleep eat
and even bribe;
- 100 characters to meet and interact with;
- funniest dialogs in video game history;
- choose your level of difficulty: from tourist to raider;
- drive vehicles from Elephants to Airship;
Prepare your self for the most interesting 80 days in your life.
The Chronicles of Spellborn Teaser Website
(thanks Frans) is live, unveiling an upcoming project from Dutch developer
Khaeon Games (Alpha Black Zero). The site promises an official launch in June,
and in the meantime, information on what type game this is, much less target platforms, is not provided. The
Khaeon Website does state they are currently working on a project utilizing
Epic's Unreal technology.
The
Vivendi Universal Games Forums offer the pre-release of a patch for The
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay - Developer's Cut. The official
release will occur next week after the other localized editions of the patch are
finalized, but in the meantime they are offering the U.S. version of the update.
There is no word on what the version 1.1 patch does, but it is accompanied
by a new patch that permits the game to be installed on a system lacking SSE
support. The downloads are mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gameguru Mania,
and Worthplaying.
3D Gamers has word
from Ubisoft on the cancellation of PC edition of Ride or Die, the
upcoming urban-themed driving and shooting game. They inquired after the
project's status after noticing the absence of PC logos and references in a
series of recent releases about the game. 187 Ride or Die is due this summer on Xbox,
PS2, and GameCube.
The Firefly Studios Website
(thanks Frans) has an update on plans to issue a patch for Stronghold 2, the
medieval strategy game: The promised 1.2 update for Stronghold 2 should
be available on Monday 16th of May.
The 1.2 update improves multiplayer stability and connection issues and adds
multiplayer functionality including the ability to kick players and create
password protected games. Also the crime system has been tweaked, memory issues
has been improved and various other bug fixes have been implemented.
Once the update has been released, the game will auto-update if you are
connected to the internet. Manual downloads should follow closely behind the
automatic update.
- Quake 4
A very brief teaser movie for Quake 4 shows off a
glimpse of Raven Software's upcoming DOOM 3-engine sequel to Quake II. You
can find the 1.4 MB clip on
3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
- Imperial Glory
The E3 movie for Imperial Glory is
available, showing off Pyro Studios' imminent RTS game, though it is
actually due in stores for the start of the show. The clip is available on
the
Eidos FTP server (direct link), and mirrored on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's
Hell, and
Worthplaying.
- Company of Heroes
The
Company of Heroes Media Index on GameSpot has the full-length E3 movie
from Relic's upcoming World War II RTS game. The movie is mirrored on
3D Gamers and
FileFront.
- Rush for Berlin
The Rush for Berlin E3 movie gives a look
at the just-announced World War II RTS game from Stormregion. The clip comes
in two resolutions, available on
3D Gamers,
Gamer's Hell, and
Worthplaying.
- Star Wolves
The
Star Wolves Website
(thanks Frans) now features a new (German) gameplay movie from Xbow
Software's upcoming space combat RPG.
The Warcraft III
Bonus Maps Page offers the latest such boon for Warcraft III: The Frozen
Throne, Blizzard's RTS expansion (thanks Frans). Batten down the hatches, here's
word on the map titled Hurricane Isle: "In one of the most tumultuous and
dangerous parts of the ocean lies an isle run by goblins. Their whole lot in
life is to sell zeppelins to wayward seafarers whose ships were destroyed by
perilous hurricanes common to these waters."
Namco
Announces Sniper Elite is a press release that doesn't actually unveil the
upcoming military shooter, though it may still be the first official
announcement of the game. The release highlights a new publishing deal, and in
concert, they have launched a
new Sniper Elite product page for the game, which is due this October on PC,
Xbox, and PS2. Also, SCi has launched a new
Conflict: Global
Terror product section for their upcoming counter-terrorism game as well as
a new Total
Overdose product section for this action/adventure game set once upon a time
in Mexico. Thanks Frans.
- Quake 4
The
Quake 4 Q&A on GameSpot discusses the upcoming shooter sequel with
Raven's Eric Biessman and Jim Hughes and id
Software's lead designer Tim Willits: "You're not a squad commander
in Quake 4. You're a guy who is taking orders, not barking orders. But we
wanted to make communication with your squadmates straightforward and
intuitive. Basically, you'll have missions where you may have to escort or
protect a VIP, meet up with your squadmates [after losing them], and so on.
Different squadmates, like the tech marine and the medic, will give you
armor and healing. What we really wanted to do in Quake 4 was to make your
squad, which is Rhino Squad, consist of unique personalities. So, you're not
just in a squad with a bunch of redshirts, you're actually part of a squad.
You have these familiar guys that you'll see and interact with throughout
the whole game. It really adds depth to the story and context for what
you're doing and why you're doing it."
- F.E.A.R.
The
F.E.A.R. Q&A on IGN
offers up a gameplay trailer from Monolith's upcoming shooter (plausible
birthday required) along with a discussion of the project with Craig 'Chris'
Hubbard: "We're concentrating on creating a nice, creepy sense of atmosphere
with occasional, subtle events and even rarer in-your-face moments. A big
concern is not wanting players to get numb to the scarier elements, which
requires a lot of discretion. The challenge in a first person game is that
you can't dictate where players will be looking at any given moment without
taking control away from them, so you have to resign yourself to the fact
that some percentage of your audience will miss some percentage of the
events you lay out. For example, we've had players walk backwards into an
area and not see something they were supposed to. The process really
requires a lot of playtesting and bulletproofing."
- Dragonshard
RPG
Vault's Dragonshard Q&A, Part 2 continues to converse with Liquid
Entertainment's Jasen Torres about their upcoming D&D RTS game: "Research
will not play a major role in Dragonshard, as characters in Dungeons &
Dragons get more powerful mainly from experience and items earned from
adventuring. Thus, we put a lot into gaining experience and items by
exploring the underworld and (to a lesser extent) fighting your enemy. I
really think that is where the dungeon experience comes together - its not
some arbitrary thing inserted to make it seem like a D&D dungeon. The
underworld is an ancient place just waiting to be adventured; there are
traps, treasure, items, quests, NPCs, lore, monsters and secret ways to get
to parts of the map you could not get to before. And two of the main
resources, gold and experience, are found in the highest quantities in the
underworld."
- Irth Online
MMORPG.COM's
Irth Online Q&A #2 chats further with the folks at Magic Hat Software
about their upcoming fantasy MMORPG: "It is true that the playable potential
is enormous and we hope that one day we can use every square inch of it. The
initial playable area is 192km x 192km. We don’t think that’s too big to
start with. It is also true that the initial playable landmass is but a
small fraction of the actual Irth size. We have very creative and
industrious world builders. Although there are many vast areas, they are not
without interest, intrigue, danger, adventure and discovery. We have
listened and responded to many players as they have expressed their needs.
Solo players often enjoy large areas of interest away from the beaten path.
We have it, and it’s filled with content and surprise."
- Pirates of the Burning Sea
The
Pirates of the Burning Sea Q&A on GameRifts talks with Thomas
"Grogbeard" Sitch of Flying Labs Software about their upcoming seafaring
MMORPG: "We're really eager to let you step into those archetypes from
Captain Blood to Treasure Island to Master and Commander. It's a big part of
the avatar system and a big part of the story arcs that form the mission
system. We have a story progression that defines each individual character,
and it will unfold a little different for every player. However, the
strength of an MMO is shared experience where players generate content for
each other, so there is a definite post-max game."
- Rat Hunter
Gameplay
Monthly's Rat Hunter Q&A discusses the upcoming shooter with Secret
Sign, developer of the upcoming first-person shooter: "The player can
manipulate many objects just as in real life, and we're really proud of that
feature. You can pick up and move small items, such as books, tables,
chairs, boxes etc., making them part of the action. For example, you can
barricade yourself (or your enemy) in a narrow corridor, which will greatly
improve your chances of survival. Or, you can pile up several gas-cylinders
and detonate them when someone passes them by."
The Elder Scrolls
Website (thanks Frans) now features a new diary written by Pete Hines, vice
president of PR and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks, who describes the "Fear and
Loathing in L.A." that is the E3 expo. Also,
RPG Vault's
Twilight War After the Fall Peek #1 initiates a new diary series on Smiling
Gator's upcoming post-apocalyptic Source-engine MMORPG written by VP of Sales
and Marketing Matt Simmons, who describes their process of building prototypes
for the project. Finally, the
Victoria Lease Dev Diary #2 on Killer Betties offers further thoughts from
the Perpetual Entertainment software engineer about her work.
An ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern demo is now available, providing a sample of
Kheops Studios' upcoming point-and-click adventure game (once known under the
working title Lascaux Project). The 275 MB download is available on
3D Gamers,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and Worthplaying.
1C Company's XIII Product Page
reflects a trio of changes for this upcoming real-time strategy game (thanks
Frans). First, and probably foremost is a developer switch, as Unicorn Games
Studio is now listed as the project's creators, where the site formerly listed
OSW games as the dev. The game has also been delayed, and now carries a 2006
release date, when it was previously expected in Q3 of this year. Finally, the
project's has a new subtitle, so the game announced as XIII Century: Sword &
Honor will henceforth be known as XIII Century: Death or Glory.
The
Zoo Tycoon 2 Downloads Page now offers downloads of the various
international versions of the Zoo Tycoon 2 patch that was released in January
for the English edition of the mogul game ( story). Thanks Frans.
- The Artificial
Studios Website (thanks Frans) has a follow-up on Epic's acquisition of
the Reality Engine, and what that means to current and potential licensees:
"The forum will stay alive, tutorials will continue to be written, and bug
fix updates will continue to be released to the licensed developers. You'll
still be able to take your games to market with renewable licensing, and I
and other Reality Engine programmers will be here supporting you to doing
so."
- A new
Warzone Demo is now available from GarageGames, demonstrating the type
of outcome that can be achieved using their
Torque Game
Engine SDK. Here's word on the demo, available for both Windows and OS
X: "This demo premiered at GDC and did its job - it stopped traffic in the
aisles and got overwhelming question of 'That´s Only Torque?' The demo build
has been streamlined for performance on older hardware and on OS X. Look for
the assets of this demo coming in content packs in a Garage near here."
- Aspire X-QPACK Alu mATX Case on
PimpRig.
- ASUS P5ND2-SLI Deluxe Motherboard on
Legion Hardware.
- Centon Advance PC2-5400 DDR2 Memory on
Legit Reviews.
- Coolermaster Wavemaster (Yellow) TAC-T01-EY Case on
Spode's
Abode.
- HP PSC 1610 - Multi Function Device on
TrustedReviews.
- Logisys Computer Pyramid Fan Controller on
ap0calypse.
- Logisys Computer Stove Fan on
ap0calypse.
- Mountain Mods U2-UFO Brushed Aluminum Case on
SystemCooling.
- OCZ EB DDR2 PC2-5400 Titanium Dual Channel Memory (video) on
3dGameMan.
- OCZ EL DDR PC-5000 Dual Channel Platinum DFI nF4 Special Memory
(video) on
3dGameMan.
- Sapphire X850xt PCI-Express Video Card on
Red &
Blackness.
Well, I had a rough night last night... perhaps I erred in making fun of Friday
the 13th. MrsBlue and I were heading home from a small dinner with family in
Manhattan when my meal started disagreeing with me. As luck (aha!) would have
it, we were on the off-ramp from the N.Y.S. Thruway to the Saw Mill Parkway,
which has no shoulder, when this all came to a head. Now I've seen folks doing
some wild things while driving... putting on makeup, reading books, eating BBQ
ribs (that was just the other day -- a classic!), but this is the first time
I've heard of someone yakking while driving. Steering with one hand, holding my
makeshift carsickness bag in the other... watch out for me baby, I'm the Mario
Andretti of the Ipecac 500!
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